Q&A: Los Angeles Lakers star Carmelo Anthony on his new book, growing up in Baltimore and more

BALTIMORE — Los Angeles Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony, one of the most prolific players of all time, never dreamed of playing in the NBA. Growing up in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and the Murphy Homes in West Baltimore, the only thing that mattered was seeing the next day.

In Anthony’s new memoir, “Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised,” the 10-time All-Star opens up about his life before scoring titles, Olympic gold medals and the glory that comes with being an NBA great.

He takes you on his journey of moving from Brooklyn to Baltimore at the age of 8. Anthony had to grow up quickly, as violence, racism, and a troubled education system affected his childhood. Anthony said Baltimore had a different type of coldness where violence, pain, and murder were the city’s makeup. “People nicknamed this place Bodymore, Murdaland,” Anthony writes in his book.

Anthony went on to become a basketball star at Towson Catholic, which closed in 2009, and Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. Despite winning a national championship with Syracuse and getting drafted third overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2003 NBA draft, he says he still looked over his shoulder, as the past intertwined with his daily life.

Anthony recently did an interview with The Baltimore Sun about his new book, growing up in Baltimore, receiving the inaugural Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award and why he thought an NBA career could never be a reality.

(Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

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— Q: New team and a book coming out, how are you feeling right now?

— A: For [the Lakers], I feel excited about that just because of the opportunity that’s in front of us. But I’m more excited about the book at this very moment. People reading it and getting a better sense of my story.

— Q: What made you want to publish a memoir about your upbringing?

— A: I didn’t want to. For the longest time everybody has been [telling] me, “You need to tell your story. Your story is crazy.” But I’m like, “Nah, that’s not for everybody,” because you have to bring a lot of people around and talk to a lot of people and try to figure it out. So, I got the green light from my family.

The time is now to tell this story. Where we are as a country, people need to know the situation they’re in, but also know that there’s an upside to it, too. I thought I could be kind of that voice and reason for things that are happening out here.

— Q: When people read this book, what should they expect?

— A: I think they should expect honesty. It’s raw, honest, [and] very authentic. It’s touching. It’s very sentimental, and it’s coming directly from me. I’m not sugarcoating anything. I’m giving it to you as if I was in my living room, talking to family and friends about my upbringing. I’m allowing you to enter that world.

— Q: The book touches on your life in Baltimore. How did Baltimore shape you to be the man you are today?

— A: If you are in those environments, you are going to grow up quickly, whether you want to or not. It shaped me for different lessons and walks of life that I’m able to experience now. Understanding it better, knowing how to move, knowing how to make certain decisions. That’s what it did for me.

— Q: I was reading an article back in 2006, and you said, every day, you had a look over your shoulder not knowing what to expect the next day or the day after. I was wondering, during the early stages of your NBA career, did you feel like you were still looking over your shoulder, even though your lifestyle and way of living changed?