Carmelo Anthony plays in Rio pickup game with kids (video)
By Matt Couden
Team USA leader Carmelo Anthony recently joined in a friendly pickup basketball game in Rio de Janeiro during his off time from the Olympics competition.
Carmelo Anthony seems to be keeping himself focused on basketball even on his days off from the Rio Olympics competition. This past Monday, he was seen at the favelas, where he not only got a mural created of himself by a graffiti artist, but he also joined in a pickup game of basketball. The hoops game involved children but gave Melo an opportunity to have some fun.
The favelas have generally been called a “violent and impoverished” area of slums by the New York Daily News. However, Carmelo Anthony was still able to embrace the youth in the area while getting to enjoy his time off a bit.
A few videos of the friendly game of basketball have hit the internet. In one clip, an opposing player tries to steal the ball from Melo who maintains control and then passes it to a smaller child. As it becomes blatantly obvious, this wasn’t too serious of a game, as traveling was fully allowed. Melo may often wish that was the case when he’s called for the violation in NBA games, so it looked like this pickup contest was about pure fun in Rio.
https://twitter.com/DimeMag/status/765645158855561216
It’s not the first time that Team USA’s NBA stars have been seen participating in sports on time off. Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson were also seen having some fun when Team USA assistant coach tossed them some passes down the football field. While many other athletes might be sleeping or checking out the local shops or attractions, some athletes have that constant need for sport.
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So far, Team USA has been undefeated at the 2016 Olympic Games, but the team has looked shaky and nearly vulnerable in their past three contests. They’ll begin the quarterfinals stage of the Olympics basketball tournament against Argentina on Wednesday evening. After Monday, Melo seems to be relaxed and ready to go for the next stage of the competition.