"It was a petty maneuver" - Carmelo Anthony calls out Denver Nuggets for erasing his legacy using Nikola Jokic
Carmelo Anthony has questioned the Denver Nuggets' decision to give Nikola Jokić the jersey number 15, which he wore during his tenure in the Mile High City. The retired NBA legend thinks that was a deliberate move to erase his legacy with the team.
In an appearance on 7PM in Brooklyn, Carmelo Anthony claimed Denver handed Jokic the number as a "petty maneuver."
Carmelo Anthony believes his jersey no. 15 should be associated with him alone. He felt he was hard done by, considering his performances for Denver, including multiple All-Star appearances and leading the team to the playoffs.
"It was a petty maneuver," he said. "It wasn't like, 'oh, we got numbers to choose from.' It was like, 'here, you got 15.'"
"Y'all put Jokić 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."
Carmelo Anthony's time with Denver was marked by both success and controversy. The Nuggets selected him No. 3 overall in the legendary 2003 draft. He averaged 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game during his time with the team.
During his eight seasons with the Nuggets, Anthony established himself as one of the top scorers in the league. He led the Nuggets to the playoffs every year from 2004 to 2010 and won two division titles.
The peak of his tenure was reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2009. However, unlike Anthony, Jokic won the Nuggets a championship in 2023.
Why did Carmelo Anthony leave the Denver Nuggets?
In 2011, Carmelo Anthony forced his way out to join the New York Knicks, citing Denver's intention to start a rebuild.
The Knicks acquired Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter and Renaldo Balkman. They sent Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, a first-round pick and two second-round picks in return.
Anthony acknowledged that No. 15 is more known as Jokic's number nowadays.
"When you think of 15 in Denver now, to this generation, you [think the] Joker," Anthony said.
“And there's nothing towards that. It's just, it was two different generations. So that just goes to show me that y’all 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.”
Before Jokic wore No. 15, Anthony Randolph used the jersey number from 2012 to 2014. Jokic wore No. 15 in Serbia.