Miami Heat’s Joel Anthony has appeared in 308 games in his five-year NBA career and has made 107 starts He ranks among the all-time HEAT leaders in blocked shots (4th), games played (13th) and total rebounds (21st) . Anthony’s mother is Erene Anthony and is from the island of Antigua. Anthony spent most of his summers in Antigua so this NBA veteran is much in touch with his Caribbean roots.
Last year, the day after receiving his NBA Championship Ring, he was appointed Tourism Ambassador for Antigua & Barbuda and that same August he traveled back to Antigua to celebrate his 30th birthday with friends and family at his family home.Joel Anthony did not have a conventional route to the NBA. Football was his first love and he excelled at playing football from age 9 to age 15. He did not start playing organized basketball until his mid-teens where he honed his shot-blocking skills which did not go unnoticed. He went to Junior college, before attending UNLV. He was not drafted by the NBA straight out of college in 2007, but was signed by the HEAT as a free agent on July 3, 2007. He re-signed by the HEAT on July 20, 2009, and re-signed by Miami on July 15, 2010.
Ranked among the HEAT’s all-time postseason leaders in blocked shots (3rd), games played (5th), offensive rebounds (8th), total rebounds (9th) and dunks (9th), and just having earned his second NBA championship ring,
SOURCE: Institute of Caribbean Studies
