The 2016 Olympics are underway and it has been nothing short of spectacular, especially for the United States. Simone Manuel, Simone Biles and Baltimore native Michael Phelps just to name a few, have been absolutely amazing and inspiring. But there is one other athlete from Baltimore that has been just as dominate and he is Carmelo Anthony. As I watch Anthony play for Team USA not just in this Olympics but throughout his entire Olympic career I've always asked myself this question: Why is Carmelo Anthony better in the Olympics than the NBA?

Before I have a bunch of New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony fans getting upset and questioning my basketball knowledge, let me say for the record Carmelo Anthony is one of the greatest offensive players of the modern day era. I have tremendous love and respect for Anthony. We both grew up in West Baltimore and I consistently play basketball at Cloverdale Courts in Baltimore, Maryland which is run by his foundation. I am huge fan of his. But after Team USA's victory over Australia, Anthony told ESPN's Marc Stein something that made me literally and figuratively jump out of my seat in disappointment.

Anthony said,"l would be very happy walking away from the game knowing that I've given the game everything I have, knowing I played at a high level on every level: high school, college, (won a championship at Syracuse in college) and possibly three gold medals. I can look back when my career is over, if I don't have an NBA championship ring and say I had a great career."

No question Anthony has had a good NBA career and even greater Olympic career. After beating Australia while scoring a team high 31 points, he passed LeBron James(273) as the all-time leading scorer in Olympic history with 293 and counting. He is the only player in Olympic history to score over 30 twice, which included a Team USA-record 37 against Nigeria in 2012.

In that light, a legit argument can be made that Anthony is the greatest U.S. Olympic men's basketball player. But if he fails to win an NBA title or at least make it the NBA Finals once, with his talent and stature it will be rare for someone to bring up his Olympic dominance because that alone doesn't overlook his NBA shortcomings.

When casual sport and basketball fans talk about players like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Scottie Pippen and Dwyane Wade who have all had Olympic success, they don't bring the Olympic aspect of their careers to the table. Most fans only speak of the multiple championships and success they had in the NBA. Even guys like Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton and others who have never won a ring but still won a gold medal are still talked about highly because of what they accomplished in the NBA, not overseas.

Carmelo Anthony is entering his 13th NBA season but has only made it out of the first round of the playoffs twice and made one trip to the Western Conference Finals which he lost against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

In fairness, he has never had the teammates Jordan, Kobe and LeBron had to help boost his chance of a championship. But with Anthony's tremendous talent and offensive prowess, why can't he take his dominance in the Olympics and translate it into even more NBA success?

Anthony probably has no idea but the statement he made gives many people a reason to believe that winning isn't the number one priority at this point in his career. Which is something people have criticized him of for most of his career. He seems satisfied that he can beat up on Australia, Brazil and China but has a hard time beating the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs. He acts just like his nickname at times, "Melo". He goes with the flow, no matter if he wins or loses the sun will shine tomorrow and he is content if he does not achieve the ultimate prize, which is an NBA championship. As a person who knows how great Carmelo Anthony is, he really disappointed me.

Team USA is the favorite to win the gold medal and for Anthony it will be his third gold medal and fourth medal total giving him the most in U.S. basketball history. But this upcoming NBA season the New York Knicks have Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Kristaps Porzingis. This is the best core of talent Anthony has had since playing with Allen Iverson in Denver. The time for him to win big is now, before it is too late.

We don't know if Anthony will win a championship or not because he has a number of years left to give in the NBA. I really hope that he does. But it is unlikely that his buddy LeBron James and even the extremely competitive Michael Jordan would have ever been "very happy" to leave the NBA if they didn't get an NBA title. Anthony is showing that he appears to be wired differently and is taking a different approach when it comes to his basketball career. Needless to say, ultimately for him, there's nothing wrong with that.