In his first and only year at the University of Syracuse, he led the team to the 2003 NCAA championship and was named NCAA Player and MVP of the East Regional. He was subsequently selected by the Nuggets in the 3rd position of the 2003 NBA Draft. In the NBA, he has played the All-Star Game ten times, eight as a starter and has been included, four times in the third best quintet of the season and two in the second. He is the first American basketball player with four Olympic participations, the first medalist four times in a row and the first of the men to win three gold medals, from his participation at the age of 20 in Athens 2004 to Rio 2016. He also won a bronze in the World Cup of 2006. Along with the Russian basketball players Sergei Belov and Gennady Volnov, is the only male player with 4 Olympic medals (3 of them gold) .1
He is currently part of the Houston Rockets staff. His father, Carmelo Iriarte, who died when he was 2 years old, was of Puerto Rican origin and his African-American mother. At 2.03 meters tall, he plays in the forward position.