It's fitting that Carmelo Anthony's teammates call him Melo, with his brilliant smile and easygoing nature.
But a closer look reveals a fierce competitor who has made it his mission to get the Denver Nuggets into the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade.
"I hate to lose. That's one thing I don't like is losing," Anthony said Wednesday. "I'm going to go out there and do whatever I've got to do to help my team win."
That kind of attitude has made the 19-year-old Anthony a winner everywhere he's been. He led Oak Hill Academy in Virginia to a 32-1 record his senior year and helped Syracuse win its first US college title last year as a freshman.
And now Anthony's doing his best to make the Nuggets -- one of the NBA's worst franchises over the past decade -- a winner.
He became just the third teenager to score 40 or more points in an NBA game when he finished with 41 in a 124-119 victory over Seattle on Tuesday that moved the Nuggets into a tie with Utah for the Western Conference's final playoff spot.
With a team-leading 20.9 point scoring average and a confidence that rarely wavers, Anthony has helped Denver (39-37) more than double its win total from last season and move into position for the franchise's first playoff appearance since 1995.
Not bad for a rookie.
"He's the kind of player that you knew would make a difference, make a contribution. And he has," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "The energy he has provided as well as the skill he's brought to the team has been a factor in what they have accomplished."
Anthony certainly hasn't had a typical first season.
At a time when most rookies struggle with the long season and have a drop in production, Anthony has gotten better. His scoring average the second half of the season is 24.5, six points higher than the first half, and his shooting percent has climbed three points to 44 percent.
Anthony has been particularly effective in the final stretch of the season, leading the Nuggets in scoring in each of the past six games, including his performance against Seattle.
He got off to a great start against the Sonics -- 18 points in the first quarter -- and his teammates kept feeding him. He finished 19-for-29 to join LeBron James and Clifford Robinson as the only teens in league history to score 40 points in a game.
James, Cleveland's 19-year-old rookie sensation, had 41 against New Jersey Saturday night. Robinson scored 40 with Detroit in 1980, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"We have to still remember, he's 19 years old," Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said of Anthony. "You can't get spoiled and think you're going to get that kind of performance all the time. No one gives that kind of performance all the time, but he certainly was outstanding."
Not that he's been perfect.
In a blowout loss to Detroit on March 19, Anthony refused to return in the fourth quarter after teammates questioned his shot selection. He apologized to the team the next day, but didn't realize the magnitude of his actions until a few days later when he got a call from Michael Jordan.
"He told me to never let people know how you're feeling," Anthony said. "If you've got something to say to your teammates, say it in the locker room. Then he told me that it was over with. I just have to learn from my experiences."
But one minor setback shouldn't tarnish what Anthony has done this season.
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