Carmelo Anthony is not pleased with the Denver Nuggets for allowing Nikola Jokic to wear his No. 15 jersey and even called it a “petty maneuver.”
On a recent episode of his podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn, he discussed Denver’s decision of easily giving up the jersey number he wore back in the day.
According to him, it was the team’s way of erasing his efforts.
“It was a petty maneuver. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh we got numbers to choose from.’ It was like, ‘Here, you got 15.’ And y’all put Jokic in the middle of that. He don’t know what the f–k is going on. He could have worn it because he wanted to pay homage… but what I believe is that they gave him 15 to try to erase what I did. I used to think about it. But I don’t think about that s–t no more.”
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony even firmly believes that the Nuggets forced the No. 15 on the Serbian player.
“What I believe is that they gave him 15 to try to erase what I did. When you think of 15 in Denver now, to this generation, you [think the] Joker. And there’s nothing towards that. It’s just, it was two different generations. So that just goes to show me that y’all [The Nuggets] not past that moment. This is 2010. This is 13 years ago. So if you are, you are holding on to something that was 13 years ago.”
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony felt disrespected when his previous team could’ve at least paid homage to his legendary deeds. However, he doesn’t deny the Jokic’s talent and the legacy he’s currently building.
As of now, Jokic and Nuggets have yet to share their official response on the matter.
We did get an explanation as to why Jokic chose the No. 15 last year.
Jokic’s reasoning is simple: he used to be chubby, and the No. 15 jersey was the biggest one available.
Many fans shared their own opinion on the matter. One of the most popular ones is how Jokic managed to win a championship and even two MVP awards, something Anthony hasn’t done.
Who is Carmelo Anthony?
Despite his lack of MVP awards, many still remember Anthony’s talent. He led the Nuggets to playoffs every year from 2004-2010. While he never won a championship, he got close in 2009, when he lost to Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
Additionally, Anthony won the scoring title back in 2012 with 28.7 points per game. His career high is 62 and also has a 33-point quarter under his belt.
He mentioned that he was No. 15 in the Denver Nuggets, but in 2011, he was traded to the New York Knicks and wore the No. 7 jersey.
Anthony’s exit still leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of Nuggets fans to this day.
At least right now, Jokic is enjoying every bit of his success. He recently just signed a new deal with 361 Degrees regarding his new signature shoes. He also just starred in a commercial with Hotels.com alongside his teammate, Peyton Watson.
