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Carmelo Anthony looks dramatically slimmer at Disney World than his pre-hiatus days

“Skinny Melo” has the people buzzing at Disney World.

Carmelo Anthony joined the Portland Trail Blazers in Orlando this week looking dramatically slimmer than what he looked like before the NBA shut down its season.

For reference, here’s what Anthony looked like in late February:

PORTLAND, OREGON - FEBRUARY 23: Carmelo Anthony #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts in the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons during their game at Moda Center on February 23, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
Carmelo Anthony pre-hiatus. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

And here’s what he looks like now:

That appears to be quite the difference.

Anthony told ESPN’s Royce Young that the slimming down was spurred by a position change from power forward to small forward. The Blazers are poised to have both Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins back and starting when play begins again, but will be without Trevor Ariza after the veteran opted out of the reboot to spend time with his son.

From ESPN:

“For me, I had that in the back of my mind, once Coach told me the position that I’d be switching back to the 3,” Anthony said. “I kind of challenged myself to get down to that weight where I feel comfortable with playing the 3, comfortable running around and utilizing things I can do within our system from playing the 3.

“That was a big motivation for me to come back at that exact weight, or around that weight, 230, 235. I haven’t seen 230, 235 since early, early in my career,” he said. “So now it puts me back in a mindset of that from a confidence standpoint knowing that I was able to get back to that. On the court I feel good, I feel healthy. I have a lot of clarity, too. All of that was part of the plan.”

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Anthony reportedly said he brought about the change through “a very intense, very healthy diet” and some tweaks to his training.

Funny enough, Anthony didn’t actually lose that many pounds while getting skinnier. Anthony entered the season listed at 238 pounds by the NBA, so going to even 230 wouldn’t be that big of a change. Blazers guard CJ McCollum told reporters on Thursday that what Anthony actually did was drop fat and replace it with some leaner muscle.

Whatever happened, Anthony appears ready to handle his new duties at small forward.

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