All along, Carmelo Anthony was best suited to be a lead scorer on a team with a top shot creator and at least one other strong scorer. All along, Carmelo Anthony fit the mold of smooth ball-stopper who gets buckets consistently but shouldn’t necessarily be the focal point of an offense at all times. All along, Carmelo Anthony needed co-stars.

When he had someone to run the offense and involve other players, his teams were at their best. The 2008-09 Nuggets won 54 games and made the Western Conference Finals. It was Carmelo’s first season alongside Chauncey Billups, then still near the peak of his powers. That team had a top-10 offense centered on that pair. The duo won 53 games the following year with the No. 3 offense in the NBA before Carmelo derailed the franchise by asking for a trade to New York.

Once in NYC, Carmelo showed he could fit in a modern offense. The 2013 Knicks — with a still vital Jason Kidd running point — had the No. 3 offense in the NBA while taking a metric ton of three-pointers. New York nearly made the Eastern Conference Finals, but it all fell apart the next season.

The failed Knicks teams leading up to Carmelo’s Saturday trade to the Thunder haven’t had anyone particularly good to run the offense. The point guards have been Raymond Felton, late-stage Jose Calderon, and post-injury Derrick Rose. That isn’t the entire reason the Knicks have failed — Carmelo is slipping in power, and other roster investments have been poor — but the lack of a creator alongside Melo has been an obvious problem.

Now Carmelo gets to play with Russell Westbrook, plus Paul George. No longer does Anthony have to be the focal point and sole creator in the offense. This is a proper place for him.

The only question is whether it’s too late.

Criticism of Carmelo is tied heavily in our perceptions of what he should be. This is not helped by his link to LeBron James, one of his best friends and a player who came into the league via the same draft.

Carmelo was better than LeBron in Year 1. He was older and had an NCAA championship with Syracuse. While LeBron’s special gifts were obvious, there was a sense that Melo might have a chance to come out ahead. Clearly, that was not plausible. LeBron is a top-three player all time, maybe No. 1.

As Melo rose through the ranks as a rival to an all-timer, he never slipped into the comfortable role guys like Alex English, Adrian Dantley, or even George Gervin. All three are in the Hall of Fame. All three were single-minded scorers who didn’t pass much and aren’t known for their defensive impacts. All of them won at least one scoring title, made multiple All-NBA and All-Star teams, and never won a title. All three are celebrated by those who know their names and watched them live or in the highlight reels.

Carmelo belongs in that club. He is not LeBron, he will never be LeBron, and he never could have been LeBron. He is Carmelo, a descendant in the lineage of smooth wing scorers, a disciple of Gervin and English and Dantley. That should be enough.

This is not to say there is no valid criticism of Anthony. His defense is often suspect, the Denver break-up was rather ham-handed (though George Karl was every bit a partner in that drama), and his wishy-washy commitment to New York when signing a new contract in 2014 was unhelpful to his career.

But achieving what Melo has is worthy of celebration, despite the bitter disappointment his teams have experienced. Perhaps a season playing more like FIBA Melo will allow more of us to appreciate who Carmelo actually is as a player instead of who he is not.

This is his chance. Finally.