That's the sentiment of former Denver Nuggets great Carmelo Anthony on Nikola Jokic wearing his old number, and he seems fed up with seeing Joker jerseys everywhere.
"What I believe is that they gave him 15 to try to erase what I did," Anthony said on his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast last week with The Kid Mero, sparking a media firestorm that eventually led to Jokic being asked about Anthony's comments during a post-game presser. "I think I've been wearing 15 my whole life," Jokic told reporters.
While it's been over half a decade since the Nuggets allowed Jokic to wear the number after drafting him in the second round from the Balkans' ABA League, Anthony is only now airing his grievances with Denver.
"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," Anthony said. "He don’t know what the fuck is going on. He could’ve been like, 'I wanna wear 15.' He could’ve been like, ‘15 is here, I can wear 15. Oh, that’s Melo’s number.' You know what I mean? Just pay homage, I don’t know. He could’ve worn it because he wanted to pay homage."
Anthony has taken a lot of heat on social media from sports reporters and fans alike for his comments, but he's found support from at least two former NBA All-Stars and Nuggets players — Kenyon Martin and DeMarcus Cousins.
Martin, who spent seven seasons with the Nuggets and six full seasons with Anthony, told his castmates on the January 15 episode of Gilbert Arenas's YouTube studio show, Gil's Arena, that he believed Anthony was right to call out the Nuggets for what he, too, feels was a deliberate move to "erase" Anthony's legacy.
"Absolutely," Martin said. "They could have easily [said no], if he wanted 15. Like, just say if Nikola wanted 15, I know Sparky. Sparky wouldn't have done that if somebody didn't tell him to."
"Sparky" is Sparky Gonzales, the Nuggets' longtime equipment manager. Martin insisted repeatedly on Gil's Arena that Gonzales would have never allowed Jokic and Anthony Randolph — who wore 15 during the 2013-14 NBA season for the Nuggets — to don Carmelo Anthony's number without being ordered to let it happen by someone higher up.
"So his résumé is big enough to keep the number 15 from nobody else wearing it?" asked retired NBA vet Brandon Jennings.
"Not [that] soon...is what I'm saying," Martin responded. "They didn't have to retire it [Anthony's number]. ... If Nikola wanted 15...just out of respect, [be like] 'Nah, we'll let you pick another one.'"
Anthony joined the Nuggets in 2003 and went to the playoffs every year until his eventual departure during the 2010-11 season. During his time in Denver, he averaged 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists over 564 games. He helped take the team to the Western Conference Finals in 2009; Martin was on that team as well.
"That man's résumé in Denver — come on, man, I understand we didn't win [a championship], but goddamn," Martin said in defense of Anthony's comments.
Cousins, who played for the Nuggets during the 2021-22 season and spent fourteen years in the NBA, spoke about the Anthony-Jokic debate with longtime sportscaster and journalist Rachel Nichols during a January 16 episode of their YouTube sports show Bully Ball. Cousins said that while he agreed with Anthony, he also saw the Nuggets' side of things.
“The reason I wore #15 was Carmelo Anthony… Them passing the number off to the next guy, it was definitely a petty move. But... nobody expected Jokic to become this.”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 16, 2024
Demarcus Cousins on the Nuggets giving away Melo's number 🧐
(via @allthesmokeprod)pic.twitter.com/Ht72uJAmny
"I can see where he's coming from with saying that," Cousins said. "I felt it was more so about the breakup between Carmelo and the Denver Nuggets. It's on record, we all know. We're well aware that the breakup was nasty and it ended in a nasty way. Them passing the number off to the next guy, it was definitely a petty move. But to their defense, nobody expected Jokic to become this. I don't think this was a plan put in place to put dirt over Melo's legacy and act like what he did for Denver never happened. Did it kind of play out that way? I would say yes. And it's unfortunate."
Anthony has said that he hopes to have his number retired in Denver instead of New York, but he never called out the Nuggets organization directly for letting Jokic wear 15 before last week.
Jokic wore both 14 and 15 throughout his basketball career in Europe, since those numbers are typically assigned to large jerseys there.
Arenas and Martin both said that giving No. 15 to a second-round draft pick, regardless of the circumstances, bolsters Anthony's claims.Jokic wore both 14 and 15 throughout his basketball career in Europe, since those numbers are typically assigned to large jerseys there.
“I was chubby, I was big, and No. 15 was the biggest jersey,” Jokic told Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero during an on-court Q&A for social media. "I just stuck with it."
Paolo Banchero: “What’s the story behind [wearing] #15?”
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 12, 2023
Nikola Jokic: “I was chubby, I was big, and #15 was the biggest jersey.” 😂😂
(via @OrlandoMagic/ Tiktok) pic.twitter.com/ufKGU7WzY6
"It shouldn't have even been on the table," Martin argued. "I would personally ask Sparky."
Asked to comment on Martin's statements, Nuggets Vice President of Media Relations Nick O'Hayre told Westword: "The team will not be responding or commenting on something unsubstantiated said on a podcast or answering any questions about our equipment manager, Sparky Gonzales."
While stories have swirled over the years regarding Anthony's exit from Denver, it was ultimately his decision to request a trade in 2011. "I never wanted to leave Denver," Anthony claimed in a 2021 appearance on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson's All The Smoke interview series. "But it’s like they put my back against the wall. We go to the Western Conference Finals in ’09. What are you supposed to do? You’re supposed to build on that. You’re supposed to add pieces, plug and play, don’t mess the core up. They got rid of Dahntay Jones. On that team, Dahntay was a key piece on that team. Get rid of Dahntay Jones. They’re like, 'We ain’t re-signing Chauncey. We’re about to trade J.R. [Smith].' K-Mart — contract's up, and the lockout’s coming? So I’m not about to rebuild. I’m not going to rebuild after we done went to the Western Conference Finals. We’re supposed to be building, not rebuilding. And I went to them. I’m like, 'I don’t want to go, but if y’all going to rebuild, it’s time for me to go somewhere else.'"
The Gil's Arena cast agreed that Anthony could be more upset about No. 15 because of Jokic's recent success as a two-time MVP and NBA champion over the last three seasons.
"That's what fucked it up," Arenas said, laughing. "I think the hurt part is, 'The first person who wore it, cool. Whoever wears it, cool.' Like when Jokic got it the first year, 'Cool.' Back-to-back MVPs, shit like that — now that stings."
Jokic has "done over and beyond" what Anthony did while he was with the Nuggets, said Cousins, who backed up Jokic during his single season with the Nuggets.
"Is it still a slap in the face to Carmelo? One hundred percent it is," Cousins asserted. "But you can't just sit and ignore the things Jokic is doing right now in his career. He brought a championship to the city, he's a two-time MVP. Like, when 15 goes into the rafters, it will be with Nikola Jokic next to it, and that's just the facts behind it."
