"That's my son" - Carmelo Anthony gets candid on relationship with 4× NBA All-Star who wore his Nuggets jersey number
It won't be difficult to find an NBA fan who would name former NBA star Carmelo Anthony as one of their favorite players. After all, Melo had a fantastic career, earning 10 All-Star selections and a scoring title in the 2012-13 season.
Anthony's status as a favorite isn't just reserved for the fans, though. Four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins also said that Anthony is his favorite player and added that Melo was why he wore No. 15.
The Kid Mero asked Carmelo Anthony his thoughts regarding this on the "7 PM in Brooklyn" podcast on Tuesday.
"That's nephew right there," Anthony said.
Anthony talked about seeing Cousins' growth while praising his work ethic toward becoming a better player.
"So to see that at fourth grade, fifth grade, and just see the evolution of it. I feel like that's my son," Anthony added.
Carmelo Anthony entered the league in 2003 in the same draft class as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The Denver Nuggets drafted him and wore the jersey number 15. He had the same number at Syracuse.
Later on, Anthony switched to No. 7 when he was traded to the New York Knicks. He also donned the double zero while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers before switching back to seven in his final season in the NBA.
DeMarcus Cousins, who played for Kentucky in college, also chose to wear the jersey number 15. When he got drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 2010, he continued to wear No. 15 in honor of his favorite player.
In 2017, Cousins was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans and took No. 0. He wore No. 15 in his stints with the Houston Rockets, LA Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks.
Interestingly, the last NBA team that Cousins played for was the Denver Nuggets, the team where his idol Carmelo Anthony began his NBA career. However, Cousins wore No. 4 since Nikola Jokic donned No. 15.
Carmelo Anthony and DeMarcus Cousins got to be All-Stars together
While they never got to play together as part of the same NBA team, DeMarcus Cousins and Carmelo Anthony were selected to the annual All-Star team several times.
Cousins' first time as an NBA All-Star happened in 2015, representing the Sacramento Kings. That same year, Anthony received his eighth All-Star selection representing the New York Knicks.
However, since the NBA was using the East vs. West format for the All-Star games, they played on opposite sides. The same happened in the next two seasons.
DeMarcus Cousins and Carmelo Anthony had the honor of representing Team USA together at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and won the gold medal.