Carmelo Anthony: 'I'm at Peace' With Not Winning NBA Championship Before Retiring

When Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from the NBA on Monday, he joined the handful of all-time greats who never won an NBA championship.

However, the 38-year-old told Sports Illustrated's Chris Herring that he has no regrets about his career or his decision to walk away from the game.

"I'm at peace," Anthony said. "That doesn't bother me no more; that idea that you're a loser if you don't win a championship."

Anthony had a Hall of Fame-caliber career despite never hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy. He scored 28,289 points over 19 seasons, which has him ninth on the all-time scoring list. He was a 10-time All-Star, a six-time All-NBA selection and a four-time Olympian with three gold medals.

However, Anthony is the only player out of the top five from the historic 2003 draft class who never won a ring. Herring pointed out that the only player who scored more points than him without winning a championship is Karl Malone.

Anthony went on to explain that he doesn't let winning a ring define his career or his life because he's satisfied with everything else he accomplished.

"For me, I've won. I won back in 2003, the night I shook David Stern's hand on that [draft] stage. I made it out of Red Hook. I've won at life," he said. "The ring is the only thing I didn't get. It would've been a great accomplishment, but I don't regret it, because I feel like I did everything I could to get it."

Anthony did admit that the one thing he would do differently would be to sign a shorter extension than the five-year, $80 million max deal he inked with the Denver Nuggets in the summer of 2006. His draft classmates LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had all decided to sign three-year deals to test free agency together down the road, but Anthony chose to follow his own path at the time.

"The only regret I've got there is not being intelligent enough about the business of the game," he said. "I got that call from [Dwyane] saying, 'Take the three-year deal; we're all doing that,' and I'm like, 'Do you know where I'm from, man?' Like, 'I'm happy, bro. I'm cool with Denver.'"

James, Wade and Bosh went on to sign with the Miami Heat together in 2010 and win two NBA championships together. Anthony requested to be traded from the Nuggets, and he was sent to the New York Knicks in 2011.

Still, Anthony's status as an all-time great will not be disputed as he embarks on life away from basketball.