Carmelo Anthony Calls Nuggets “Petty” For Giving Nikola Jokić No. 15

Carmelo Anthony claims that the Denver Nuggets were “petty” in giving Nikola Jokić his number. On the latest episode of Melo’s 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, the ex-NBA player opened up about his former team.

Anthony, 39, alleged that the organization gave Jokić his number to “erase” his accomplishments. “When you think of 15 in Denver now, to this generation, you thinking Joker,” he said before detailing his initial reaction to seeing Jokić in his number. “I’m like, ‘F**k is going on? 15?'”

“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 Jokić in the middle of that. He don’t know what the f**k going on…He could’ve 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.”

Anthony continued, explaining that the move convinced him that the Nuggets were trying to build a “narrative.” The ex-Syracuse University star alleged that the Nuggets were still upset that he wanted to be traded from the squad in 2011.

“So now, just start thinking, this is because this is the narrative that they put out there—he wanted to leave, he wanted to do this, you know, he wasn’t—but nah, but why would you disrespect by even offering that [number]? The disrespect in you offering that showed me that you just wanted to erase everything that came prior to that right there,” he added.

“It’s f**k y’all. You saying f**k me dead smack to the rest of the world. I ain’t never said anything bad about y’all, y’all boo me.”

The Denver Nuggets drafted Carmelo Anthony in 2003. In 2011, they decided to trade the Brooklynite after contract negotiations between the two parties failed. Days before the NBA trade deadline, the Nuggets sent the superstar to the New York Knicks.

When Melo arrived in NY, he began sporting No. 7. The decision was made to change his number because the Knicks famously retired No. 15 twice for NBA legends Dick McGuire and Earl Monroe. Later in the podcast Melo explained that he was at peace with the number switch for the Knicks. He expressed that the number had a biblical meaning to him and felt it was needed.

“Now, like seven is the new thing. I’m in the Mecca. I’m back. I’m in it. It’s a God’s number,” he said. “So I’m not even thinking about 15.”

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