It’s a strange coincidence the two best players in Denver Nuggets history both wore the same number… or is it? Speaking on his podcast this week, NBA Top 75 star Carmelo Anthony called the organization giving reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic his No. 15 jersey as a rookie second-round pick in 2016 “a petty maneuver.”
“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we got numbers to choose from,’ it was like, ‘here, you got 15,'” Anthony said on his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast. “And y’all put Jokic in the middle of that. He don’t know what the f*** is going on.”
Jokic wore the number on his Mega Bemax team in Serbia. And by 2016, Anthony had been gone for six years since demanding a trade to New York.
But Anthony still believes the Nuggets gave him the number out of spite.
“What I believe is they gave him 15 to try to erase what I did,” Anthony said. “I used to think about it. I don’t think about this s*** no more, though. Because what’s meant to be is meant to be.”
https://twitter.com/7PMinBrooklyn/status/1745506560158392777?s=20
At least Anthony isn’t putting blame on Jokic, the notoriously quiet new Nuggets superstar. And nobody can know for sure whether Denver was being petty by allowing Jokic to have the number.
It’s understandable to be hurt by this and speak about it. By giving away Anthony’s number, the Nuggets also ensured if the jersey is ever retired, Jokic’s name will be on it. Not his.
That impacts Anthony’s legacy and how he is remembered in the NBA and on the teams he played for.
Still, if even Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic can mend their relationship, one would hope the same for Anthony and Denver.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.