NBA's First Quarter MVP: Carmelo Anthony

After a quarter of the NBA season has passed, we begin to search for a Most Valuable Player for the league's play so far. Could it be the usual suspects such as: LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, or even Tim Duncan? Or might there be someone different who has burst onto the scene to steal the show. The ladder of the two is exactly the case so far in this young NBA season. With plenty of basketball to play, we settle on Carmelo Anthony as our first quarter MVP of the league.

Carmelo Anthony is averaging just over 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals per game. The 31 points per game is up from Carmelo's short career average of 23. Carmelo has put up 30 point games on a consistent basis during the early portion of the season. Carmelo has always been an option on the offensive end, but never quite has heavy of an offensive threat, as he has been this season.

Carmelo Anthony has been the face of the Denver Nuggets' team this season and has stepped up the challenge of playing team leader. Anthony currently has the Denver Nugget as one of the top scoring teams in the NBA's Western Conference. Early in this season, the Nuggets other superstar Kenyon Martin went down with a knee injury that will keep him out for the remainder of the season. With the loss of a fellow superstar, Carmelo Anthony has stepped up and picked up the slack.

Carmelo hasn't been lauded quite as much as his fellow standouts from the draft class of 2003 like LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. LeBron James has been the apple of every fan's eye, with some even calling for him to be the best ever when he's finished. Dwayne Wade has also been lauded for his outstanding play after leading his Miami Heat to the 2006 NBA Finals Championship. But what about Carmelo? The Melo Man has been lost in the mix, but his third campaign has so far been his break out season. Carmelo Anthony should now be lauded in his own right as a major superstar.

Along with his on-court breakout season, we've also been witness to Carmelo Anthony's off-court flourishes. Carmelo has released a new shoe line featuring his logo "Melo" this early season. The advertisements have also rolled in and we've seen Melo in several television commercials. So what does it all mean? It simply means that Carmelo Anthony has arrived, and he is a major force to be reckoned with. Anthony has single handedly put his club on his shoulders and carried them to the elite of the NBA's Western Conference. So far it's safe to say that Carmelo has been his team's Most Valuable Player.