Carmelo Anthony Calls Out 'Petty' Nuggets For Giving Nikola Jokic - The Best Player In The NBA - His Number 15

Carmelo Anthony may have been drafted by the Denver Nuggets back in 2003, but the majority of his NBA seasons came while on different teams. The best playing days of his 19-year career came as a New York Knick. That hasn't stopped him from taking issue with the Nuggets allowing Nikola Jokic to wear No. 15, the same number Anthony wore in Denver.

Jokic is regarded by most as the best basketball player in the world. He's won an NBA title, been named a Finals MVP, and has been league MVP twice all while wearing a Nuggets jersey. Anthony did not accomplish any of those things during his entire career.

While some would look at Jokic being given the No. 15 jersey as an homage to Melo, he doesn't see it that way. Despite everything Jokic has accomplished while wearing the number, Anthony still doesn't like seeing the best player in the league wear 'his' number.

"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 Jokic in the middle of that. He don’t know what the fu-k going on."

"He could’ve been like, ‘I want to wear 15.’ Or ’15 is here, I want to wear 15. Oh, that’s Melo’s number.’ You know what I mean?" Anthony said on his '7PM in Brooklyn' podcast. "Like just pay homage. I don’t know. 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. I used to think about it. I don’t think about this sh-t no more, though. Because what’s meant to be is meant to be." 

Melo may have put the No. 15 on the map in Denver, but making a number popular doesn't exactly compare to winning a title and two league MVP awards.

It'll be interesting to see what the Nuggets do in terms of retiring the jersey number when Jokic eventually retires.