Nuggets' Nikola Jokić Responds to Carmelo Anthony: Been Wearing No. 15 My Whole Life

Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokić spoke Saturday on why he wears jersey No. 15 after former Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony expressed his displeasure with it this week.

While speaking to reporters, Jokić mentioned some of the previous teams with which he wore No. 15 before saying, "I think I've been wearing 15 my whole life."

Jokić was then asked if he was aware of who wore No. 15 in Denver before him, and he responded, "Of course, he [Anthony] was a great player."

During an appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast (h/t KDVR's Karl Rasmussen) this week, Anthony talked about the situation and why he felt the Nuggets were disrespecting him by giving Jokić No. 15:

"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."

The Nuggets made Melo the No. 3 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, and he went on to establish himself as one of the best players in franchise history over his eight seasons with the team.

Anthony was a four-time All-Star in Denver, and he averaged 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per contest in 564 regular-season games for the Nuggets.

The one thing that eluded Anthony during his time in Denver was playoff success, as he experienced six first-round exits and never reached the NBA Finals.

Denver traded Anthony to the New York Knicks during the 2010-11, and he went on to secure six more All-Star selections, plus he won the scoring title in 2012-13.

Jokić was a second-round pick by the Nuggets in 2014, and he made his NBA debut at the start of the 2015-16 season.

Given where he was drafted, Jokić was not viewed as a surefire star when he joined the NBA, but he blossomed into one, and is likely to be an All-Star for the sixth consecutive year this season.

Jokić was also named NBA MVP in both 2021 and 2022, and he led the Nuggets to their first-ever NBA championship last season, winning NBA Finals MVP honors in the process.

Given all he has accomplished, it is difficult to argue against the notion that Jokić is already the greatest player in Nuggets history.

Anthony is blaming the Nuggets organization rather than Jokić for his jersey number getting handed out, but Jokić doesn't seem to believe that the decision was made with any malicious intent.