Boeheim: Comments about Carmelo were 'misinterpreted'

After Jim Boeheim said it's unlikely that Carmelo Anthony will ever win an NBA championship, he's found his comments were completely misunderstood.

"Some have misinterpreted my comments regarding Carmelo. He's made every team he's been on better. It's very difficult to win an NBA title," the USA basketball assistant coach tweeted Wednesday afternoon after he said Tuesday that Anthony is "unlikely to win an NBA title."

Boeheim coached Anthony at Syracuse and on all three of his Olympic gold medal-winning teams. His belief that the nine-time NBA All-Star will never hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy has more to do with the team he's playing for and less to do with his skill on the hardwood.

"He's never been on a team that even had a remote chance of winning an NBA title. As a player, all you can do is try to make your team better and every team he's been on he's made them a lot better," Boeheim said Tuesday, according to Syracuse.com's Mike Waters. "It's obvious. You look back on your total basketball experience and he had a great high school team, he won the NCAA championship, and he's won three gold medals in the Olympics. That's a pretty good resume."

The farthest Anthony has ever gotten in the postseason is the Western Conference finals in 2009. His former squad, the Denver Nuggets, fell in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers, who went on to win the title.

As a member of the New York Knicks, the former scoring champion has missed out on the playoffs each of the last three seasons.

Anthony, who became the U.S. men's all-time leading scorer during the tournament, said he'd be satisfied with what he's accomplished over his career - spanning from his high school days to his final NBA outing - if he never wins a ring. Along with his three gold medals, the 32-year-old won titles at Oak Hill Academy before going on to became a national champion in 2003 with the Orange.