‘He Was Very Tight with Kobe’: Trainer Alex Bazzell Opens Up on His Relation With Carmelo Anthony

NBA veteran Carmelo Anthony recently launched a basketball training program labeled “Through the Lens.” The NBA star launched this program in partnership with trainer Alex Bazzell.

Bazzell has worked with several NBA stars in his time as a basketball trainer, with late legend Kobe Bryant among those prolific names. Alex sat down for an interview with Sports Illustrated, where he explained his relationship with Carmelo.

“We have a very unique relationship. He was very tight with Kobe, but that’s not how we met. We met through a different source and I kind of met him at the lowest point of his career. He was out of the league. There had to be a quick amount of trust that we built. So forming that relationship at a level to where we felt like we were kind of in this dog fight together.

“I think it brought us together a lot closer than if I would’ve joined him at the peak of his career or early in his career when things were going well. So that formed that unique relationship that not a lot of people ever get to experience. Then once he decided he wanted to kind of step in and spearhead this thing, just with how powerful his voice is, the conversations I always have with him is there’s very few people that demand the respect that he does from all age groups.”

It is true that after his worrisome one-and-a-half year spell out of the league, Melo has gained a special place in the heart of the fans. This season, he will return with the Blazers in hopes to help the team win it all.

How involved was Carmelo Anthony in the “Through the Lens” project?

While it was Kobe who gave Alex Bazzell the desire to launch this terrific training program, it would not have materialized without Melo’s involvement. Bazzell explained how Carmelo came through big time when this project was in the budding stage.

“We were thinking about different names and it was really Carmelo that wanted to go through with what was called ‘Through the Lens’. We had a bunch of different ideas thrown out there. Melo, like the fact that it was it’s just straight through the lens or the eyes and the minds of the best people in the world.

“We wanted to give that portrayal of the company name should be exactly what that is cause it’s great to learn from a coach or a trainer or someone that’s close to the situation, but nothing’s better than learning directly from the source.”

Hopefully, this program reaches its full potential under the leadership of Anthony and Bazzell. At the end of the day, a platform like this can help new talents to improve their skills before entering the league.

What are your thoughts on this initiative by Melo? Let us know your views in the comments section down below.