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Basketball Hall-of-Fame coach George Karl made a surprise reversal on his ongoing beef with his former player Carmelo Anthony. He now says ‘Melo’ should be given the honor of having his No. 15 jersey retired by the Denver Nuggets for what he did while still playing in the Mile High City.
The two key Nugget figures in the late 2000s recently got into an argument after they exchanged biting words on X on how they viewed one another during their time together.
Speaking on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, Anthony shared how Karl once called him overrated while he was starting. The coach took to X to reply, saying:
“Hey @carmeloanthony let’s not do this. You’re telling stories that are 20 years old. Let’s move fwd And u were overrated and u wish your game was as efficient as Detlef’s. ”
George Karl added fuel to the beef on the occasion of Denver superstar Nikola Jokic’s birthday on Feb. 19 when he greeted the Serbian big man while saying he was the greatest Nuggets player to wear No. 15 while tagging Anthony on the post.
In one of his most recent posts on X, however, Karl put the breaks on his digs on 10-time All-Star Anthony, saying the latter deserves to be honored with a jersey retirement and, hopefully, they could reconnect. He wrote:
“I want to see Melo’s jersey retired in Denver and he deserves it. I’d like us to reconnect.”
The Nuggets made it to the playoffs in each of the seven seasons Carmelo Anthony was with the team. They, however, were only able to advance beyond the opening round once, in 2009, when they made it all the way to the Western Conference finals.
Carmelo Anthony calls out Nuggets for trying to erase his legacy in Denver
Former Denver Nuggets All-Star Carmelo Anthony called out his former team for the ‘disrespect’ it has shown to him by trying to erase his legacy while playing for the city. He, in particular, cited giving his No. 15 jersey to current Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic as part of it.
The explosive scorer shared this in an episode of the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast last month, where he spoke, among other things, of his time in Denver and how the team has been trying to portray it since.
The 39-year-old former third overall pick (2003) said:
“‘Y’all put Jokic in the middle of that. I'm like, what the f**k is going on? 15? 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.' Nah. But why would you disrespect by even offering that?’"
During his stay with the Nuggets, Anthony compiled averages of 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals. In each of his seven seasons in Denver, he helped the team reach the playoffs, including a Western Conference finals trip in the 2008-2009 season.
He then moved to the New York Knicks for seven years, where he further cemented his legendary status.
After that, Carmelo Anthony played for the OKC Thunder, Houston Rockets, and Portland Trail Blazers before concluding his career with the LA Lakers in the 2021-22 season.
