Carmelo Anthony has looked like a human cheat code while he’s been in the gym this summer. So much so that “Hoodie Melo” has taken on a life of its own and become an alter ego for the Knicks forward. 2K Sports, creator of the popular NBA 2K games, even gave Hoodie Melo a hypothetical player rating, and it was a 98. Which would be good for highest in the game and significantly higher than regular Melo’s mere 84.

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So who is Hoodie Melo? Why did it become his nickname? And why has this alter ego created so much buzz around Melo’s summer workouts?

Well according to former teammate J.R. Smith, in an interview with SportsNet New York: “Hoodie Melo doesn’t play with a conscience. Regular Melo has a guard up, both great but I like Hoodie Melo.”

The name comes from the hoodies that Carmelo has donned during his offseason workouts. Wearing a hood up over your head is not a traditional look for basketball players, but Carmelo seems to be very comfortable with the fit. The “Hoodie Melo” persona has taken off because of how smooth yet deadly Melo has looked in these videos posted largely by his trainer.

Now these videos can be taken with a minor grain of salt because they are highlights and will not show any mistakes or misses, however there are many of these cases in which it looks like Melo could be in for a big year.

Exhibit A: Pick and pop work along with some spot up shooting

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Exhibit B: Mid-post face up/mid-range scoring options

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Exhibit C: Mid-range step backs and fadeaways and then transition threes

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Exhibit D: More mid-post face up work (Melo’s bread and butter)

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Exhibit E: Transition ball handling into different scoring options then some mid-range pull-ups

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Exhibit F: Ball handling, mid-range curl shooting, transition threes, and spot threes

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Exhibit G: Creating space with dribble moves before a pull-up jumper

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Exhibit H: Giving Lebron and friends some buckets

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Exhibit I: More pickup buckets

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READ MORE:

• Carmelo Anthony Spent His 33rd Birthday Shooting in the Gym
• Carmelo Anthony’s 2 a.m. Offseason Conditioning Workout Looks Brutal
• Carmelo Anthony’s Full-Body Strength Training