I don’t know who first deemed New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony an elite NBA player, but the notion of him being in a category of elite players is laughable.

What exactly has Anthony done in his 11-year NBA career to earn an elite distinction? And what does he bring to the table that supposedly makes him elite?

Well, let me think.

He’s never won an NBA Championship; as a matter of fact, he’s never even made an NBA Finals appearance. In 10 playoff appearances he’s only taken his team past the first round two times, and this season was the first he failed to make the playoffs.

He’s never been named NBA MVP. In fact, he’s only finished in the top three in NBA MVP voting one time in his career.

He’s never been named to an All-NBA First Team. He has made the All-NBA Second Team an entire two times and the All-NBA Third Team four times.

He was named to the All-Rookie First Team when he was on the Denver Nuggets … so there’s that.

He has been voted to an All-Star team on seven occasions. But everybody knows All-Star Game voting is basically a popularity contest, which is why an injured Kobe Bryant had the fifth-highest All-Star Game vote total this season.

Furthermore, he’s never been named NBA Defensive Player of the Year or even made any of the NBA All-Defensive Teams.

He’s never led the league in blocks or steals. Actually, he’s never finished in the top 40 in blocks, and he’s only been in the top 40 in steals once, when he finished No. 27 in 2007-08.

In fact, his defense is so highly suspect that nearly any other NBA player would be an upgrade over Anthony and his lackadaisical, apathetic, half-hearted, let-me-take-several-plays-off effort on the defensive end. He’s a project Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau and his raspy voice more than likely couldn’t fix (see: Boozer, Carlos).

But everybody knows that Anthony’s a below-average defender, so what does he actually do on the court?

In the rebounding department, a hybrid offense-defense stat, he’s only finished in the top 40 three times in 11 seasons.

Offensively, he’s never led the NBA in assists. Actually, he’s never even finished in the top 40.

But his saving grace is his ability to score. He’s won the scoring title one time, but he is one of the most dynamic, elite scorers in the NBA.

Anthony has finished in the top four in scoring in six of the past eight seasons and in the top eight in the last nine seasons. He can score with the best of them, but there’s much more to be desired for him to come close to even being considered a complete, elite player.

So, this supposed elite baller hasn’t really had that much individual or team success and is basically a one-dimensional player. Yeah, that sounds like an elite player to me … .