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Carmelo Anthony is the latest NBA Superstar to take his talents to the media space after retiring.
And like many of his former co-workers, his opinions are riling up fans disparaging his contributions to the league.
On Melo’s latest episode of 7 PM Brooklyn, his sports and culture podcast alongside Bodega Hive’s The Kid Mero, the topic about his 8-year career with the Denver Nuggets.
The big man in Denver is now Nikola Jokic, who ironically wears No.15, the same number Melo wore many years ago, so Mero asked about the jersey conundrum.
“Look in my eyes. You had to feel a way when they gave Jokic that 15, bro. Because that’s Melo. Did you think it was a petty maneuver?” Mero asks.
“Hell yeah, it was a petty maneuver,” Melo begins. “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we got numbers to choose from.’ It was like, ‘Here you got 15.’ And put Jokic in the middle of that. He doesn’t know what the f-ck is going on.”
Melo clarifies that Jokic could be rocking it as an homage to him but thinks the franchise may have ulterior motives.
“But what I believe is they gave him 15 to try to erase what I did,” Melo said, noting that it’s been 13 years since he forced a trade to the New York Knicks. “I used to think about it. I don’t think about that sh-t anymore, though, because what’s meant to be is meant to be.”
While Anthony never made it to the promised land of the NBA Finals while a member of the Nuggets after being drafted with the No. 3 overall pick from Syracuse in 2003 –fresh off a national championship– they made the playoffs every season. Including one Western Conference Finals run, and he was also named an All-Star four times. With JR Smith and Allen Iverson, they were undoubtedly a fun team to watch.
Jokic, however, told the Athletic that he always wore No. 15 because, growing up, it was the biggest jersey available, and it stuck, so he continued to wear it for Mega Basket when he competed for the Adriatic and Serbian League before his NBA career.
Accomplishments-wise, he’s already brought one chip to the Mile High City, but he’s more concerned with his horse races in his hometown, so we doubt he’ll ever comment on a jersey number.
See how social media is reacting to Melo’s jersey number comments below.
