"Greatest player to wear #15 in Denver" - George Karl endorsing Nikola Jokic's Nuggets run fuels beef with Carmelo Anthony

Nikola Jokic has established himself among the best players in the game. Joker and the Nuggets won their first NBA championship last season. Given that Jokic helped the team secure its first NBA title in franchise history, he has secured a place among all-time Denver Nuggets greats.

On Feb. 19th, Nikola Jokic celebrated his 29th birthday. George Karl, the former coach in Denver recently made the headlines after he posted a birthday wish for Nikola Jokic. In his post on X/ Twitter, the longtime NBA coach called Jokic the greatest player in the Nuggets franchise to put on the No. 15 jersey.

“Happy bday to the champ, the ultimate team guy and the greatest player to wear #15 in Denver hoops history,” Karl posted on his X account.

Karl was Carmelo Anthony’s coach when the latter was playing with the Denver Nuggets. Melo wore the jersey No. 15 during his playing years with the Nuggets, the same that Nikola Jokic currently wears. It is quite clear that Anthony’s former coach was indirectly taking a shot at him.

The former NBA player was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the 2003 NBA Draft, the same year LeBron James was drafted. However, after Melo demanded a trade, he was traded to the Knicks in his eighth season while Karl was still the coach in Denver.

This is not the first time that Karl has slammed Melo publicly. Recently, he commented that Melo was an overrated player on his social media account. He had also previously said that he wanted Melo to be celebrated in Denver. However, after his recent comments, he had changed his mind.

It seems like Karl has developed a beef with Melo and doesn’t agree with the narrative that Anthony has been putting on his podcast. Still, his former coach also said that he wanted to come to Melo’s show and sort things out.

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Nikola Jokic replies to Carmelo Anthony’s jersey comment

Carmelo Anthony is a first-ballot Hall of Fame player and there is little to no doubt about it. In the 19 seasons Melo played in the league, he established his name among the most lethal scorers in league history. After Melo was drafted by the Nuggets, he suited up for six teams in 19 years.

In Denver, Melo wore No. 15. Which the Nuggets later gave to Nikola Jokic when he was drafted in 2014. He took issue with the franchise giving the same number to Jokic. Recently on his podcast “7PM in Brooklyn,” the former Nuggets star blamed the team for trying his erase his legacy in the franchise's history.

"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 Jokić in the middle of that. He don't know what the f--k going on…He could've been trying to pay homage, I don't know. … But what I believe, is that they gave him No. 15 to try to erase what I did."

Since then, Melo has been slammed by his former coach. ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe is putting the blame on the team. When Jokic was asked about Melo’s comments, the reigning NBA Finals MVP said:

"I think I've been wearing 15 my whole life.”

However, Jokic was humble about recognizing Melo’s legacy in Denver. When a reporter asked if he knew the player who wore the same jersey, Nikola Jokic remarked:

"Of course, he [Carmelo Anthony] was a great player."

During his stint with the Nuggets, Melo made multiple All-Star teams. Although the Nuggets had playoff success every season that Melo played, they never reached the NBA Finals. Nikola Jokic became the first player in the Nugget's history to win a Finals MVP.