Carmelo Anthony Comments on 'Slam' Magazine Ranking

Rolling out the magazine's list of the top 50 players in the NBA, Slam's Leo Sepkowitz ranked New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony at No. 15.

To put it bluntly, Anthony disagrees.

"It’s disrespect," he said of his spot on the list, according to the New York Post's Marc Berman. "I should be mad at the person that send it to me. I think they were sending it to me more as motivation. I wasn't actually upset. I looked at it and [thought] it was disrespectful."

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith was flabbergasted by the 32-year-old's ranking, courtesy of First Take's Twitter account:

While Anthony and Smith are within their rights to disagree with the ranking, one could argue Anthony deserved to be even lower in Slam's top 50.

Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver and Rob Mahoney ranked him 24th in their annual top 100.

Anthony's career is trending in the wrong direction. Since he led the league in scoring in 2012-13, his per-game scoring average has dipped in each of the last three years. His efficiency is falling as well, with his true shooting percentage going from 56.1 in 2013-14 to 53.1 in 2014-15 and 53.0 in 2015-16, per Basketball-Reference.com.

Anthony can silence his critics by staying healthy and helping the Knicks get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13. He remains a dangerous scorer and his team's best offensive player. According to NBA.com, New York was 5.7 points better per 100 possessions when he was on the court.

Based on how the last three years have unfolded, though, Anthony's days as one of the game's elite players may be numbered.