Former NBA star Carmelo Anthony, who spent the first eight seasons of his illustrious career with the Denver Nuggets, expressed dissatisfaction with the team’s decision to swiftly assign his No. 15 jersey to Nikola Jokic, labeling it a “petty maneuver.”
Anthony suggested that the move felt like an attempt to diminish his legacy within the organization. In a recent interview with Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez, Anthony remarked, “It was a petty maneuver. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we’ve got numbers to choose from.’ It was like, ‘here, take this one, you got 15.’ And y’all put Jokic in the middle of that. He don’t know what the f— going on,” as reported by Karl Rasmussen of Sports Illustrated.
Despite Anthony’s criticism, Jokic has since thrived in the No. 15 jersey, earning two league MVP awards, a Finals MVP, and leading the Nuggets to their first NBA championship last season.
This success has arguably overshadowed Anthony’s accomplishments during his tenure with the team. The decision to pass on Anthony’s No. 15 to Jokic, once deemed controversial, has now become a pivotal part of the Serbian superstar’s journey to NBA stardom.
