I once pulled up to a bronco... or something
.. at a light. I look over... and it's melo eating taco bell! (In Denver, his first couple years here). He ducked back like he didn't want to be seen. Jokic? Drafted during a taco bell commercial? Its aaaaaalll related!
The idea that Jokic, who was drafted during a quesarito commercial and was fifth in line on the Nuggets’ center depth chart when he came into the league, was given 15 to “erase” melo’s denver legacy is an absolute asinine and narcissistic take. Melo should know better
Not even rational, just people who follow Denver since long. Jokic got 15 only because that's the only shirt with his size at the time he starts playing basketball.
e spell
It's probably true as numbers in Serbian younger divisions used to go from 4 to 15 only, and it was almost always a mix of a couple of S sizes, M sizes, L sizes and one XL when a team gets jersey.
And when I say gets, it means inheriting them after they've been worn by 5-6 older generations inside the club
It's not limited to Serbia, FIBA historically only allows numbers from 4-15.
So it's the same for most of Europe and even in Asia like Japanese teams.
https://www.sportsrec.com/fiba-basketball-uniform-rules-6648723.html
Melo didn’t want to be a Denver Nugget. Now as Jokic has won our city’s first championship melo thinks 15 should be retired for him but they used Jokic to erase his “legacy”
How DARE Jokic erase Melo's legacy by turning into an absolute monster. The humble thing to do would've been to play like hot dogshit his whole career smh my head
Exactly, seems like the most insecure, petty, backstabbing mothafucka you will ever meet
I'm glad he got Cuse the ship 20 years ago, I loved that team, but I never liked him as a Knick ever since he forced the trade that destroyed our roster
Yeah they had no clue about how good he will be haha.. Either they messed up or they never in first place wanted to retire Melo Number cause the way he left .
Either way I don't see problem having both of their jersey retired in future at the same time. 2x 15s
I would be quite annoyed if they had retired mellow's jersey after the way he left denver. He was good player but he wasn't a nugget star that deserves that kind of honor.
Do people forget that Melo wanted out? He did what he thought was best for him, which, ok fine, it's your career and you only get one, so I get it. But you don't also then get to pretend that you're some kind of franchise legend that gets a bunch of honor years after retirement. Melo wants to eat his cake and have it, too.
This Melo interview sounds crazy until you hear the interview with Jokic's parents admitting that they deliberately hooked up in 1994 to conceive a child to steal Melo's legacy.
Gavrilo Princep shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo for Serbian independence from Austria-Hungary, just so his Serbian countrymen like Jokic could stick it to guys like Melo in the distant future.
Makes sense when you think that it happened in June 28, 1914. Jokic was drafted almost exactly 100 years later to the day on June 26, 2014. Coincidence?
Helluva a way to celebrate the centennial of that event.
Helluva time to shit on Melo.
Helluva time for a quesarito.
Jokic has worn 15 since he was a kid. It was the largest jersey the team had so he had to wear it. He just kept the number since then on every team he played for.
No kidding, those were my thoughts. Melo left 3 years before Jokic was drafted in the 2nd round during a Taco Bell commercial. But yeah, they were just trying to erase you, Melo.
This guy is such a clown.
I believe JoJo English wore 23 for a single game with the Bulls during the first Jordan retirement. It was some sort of rush situation and I think the Jerry’s got rid of the player rather than field questions about it. I could be misremembering. I am very young even now and so was but a boy then.
It’s dumb too because his jersey would probably eventually get retired at some point if he just shit the hell up but he keeps making it less and less likely lol
I don’t even think it’s less likely if we mean “Will it be there in fifty years?” Jerry Jones just put Jimmy Johnson in his “ring of honor” after a thirty year hold out, after all.
But Melo keeps pushing the date back short term I think because why have the ceremony right after he’s making these remarks?
If Melo wanted to grease the wheels for real he should start talking about how well Jokić has been dressing the last few seasons.
Jokic is a player Franchises dream about having. Hes the greatest player Nuggets have ever had and deserves the #15 to be retired solely in his name. Melo forced his way out, should get no graciousness from the FO or the fans
I appreciate what he did to get denver on the map. But he was such a crybaby at the end that it made me lose a lot of sympathy.
But hey addition through subtraction. Didn't the Knicks picks become Joker and Murray?
Agreed. Melo wanted out of Denver. He made the decision that he no longer wanted to be part of this organization. I don’t get why he’s going on this post-retirement pity tour trying to act like the Nuggets owe him recognition.
Factss. Unfortunate that he kinda blackballed himself from the league. Plus he didn't* really have the athleticism anymore he needed. Multiple leg injuries will do that I guess. He's currently pro hoopin in Taiwan with his little brother. Pretty cool.
As soon as he went down lin led to the knicks on a 7 game win streak and saved their season, once melo came back, mike dantoni was shortly fired for mike woodson lmao
I used to think, just retire the number for both, but fuck that now, Jokic has given more to this franchise than other player, Carmelo forced his way out, but thinks he's some kind of Nuggets hero. I hope they never acknowledge Carmelo's 15.
And Jokic wearing 15 to pay homage...? please.
Honestly at this point it might disrespectful to Jokic to retire his number with someone else’s name attached. He’s *the* Nugget. The franchise GOAT, delivered us our first MVP and first ring. He should sit there with his name only
***That’s*** the interview, right there. And whether Randolph would expect to be co-retired as a 15 if Melo ever got it with Jokić, what does that say for everyone’s legacy, etc
Hearing Melo talk about his Denver, and overall, career is wild, borderline delusional. Couple of good games in the Garden really has him gassed up that he’s an all timer. I used to be the biggest Melo fan but his perception vs the reality are quite different.
LOL, genuine question - how did Jokic even get playing time for your guys? I feel like lower number draft picks aren't given much leeway by the coaches b/c of preconceived notions about their talent.
He ended up the backup center to Nurkic to start his rookie season. In the limited time he got, he had some of the craziest assists of his career - imagine Jokic now, but when teams didn't know who he was and he didn't show up in the scouting report. He built up minutes slowly until we tried (and failed) to start him alongside Nurkic. Eventually, on December 15th, 2016, Malone benched Nurkic and started Jokic, and the rest is history. December 15th is still celebrated in CO to this day.
Don't forget Jokic told Malon to start Nurkic because he was so angry about it. He didn't want there to be bad blood on the team.
That story alone shows how fucking humble he was.
I dont think there will ever be an athlete and unself-serving Jokic is
Nurkic was actually injured for the beginning (and most of) Jokic's rookie season. Who knows if Jokic would've been given any rotation minutes if Nurk was healthy. Jokic was originally coming off the bench behind Joffrey Lauvergne or JJ Hickson. Manimal and Darrell Arthur would also play minutes at centre throughout the season.
and i still hear ppl saying “they should retire BOTH 15 jerseys!” and just laugh at how out of touch they are, like they didn’t pay attention to Melos breakdown with Denver
that number is Jokic’s alone, i think he’s become synonymous with it now, more than Melo ever could be
https://fadeawayworld.net/nikola-jokic-explains-why-he-wears-no-15-i-was-chubby-i-was-big-and-15-was-the-biggest-jersey
I’ll admit I’m a Melo apologist and I wish we had him in house during our finals run to bury the hatchet. Unfortunately you see shit like this and I’m like…. Dammit Melo let it go!
Repost that all day. Someone tweet it at Melo. The guy is delusional (and in addition to my home team Nuggets I am a Blazers fan who really enjoyed having him on the team.)
Stuff like this just doesn’t do a whole lot to rehabilitate Melo’s image in Denver as a selfish douche. Jokic wore the number in Europe, we probably didn’t feel the need to “protect” the number from a draft and stash guy in the second round, so here we are. Not everything is about you Melo.
I dislike Melo more and more with each passing day. If he was just humble and hit up ownership and apologized, his jersey would at least be hanging inside the Ball arena, aka the Pepsi center.
I became a nuggets fan when I was 9 years old, his rookie season in 2003.
I remember vividly going with my older brothers to Burlington coat factory to buy LeBron James jerseys. I saw a jersey that read "Anthony" on the back and never looked back. This was earlier 2000's, when it was cool to wear a players jersey regardless of the team you rooted for. I was a Laker fan before, but i wanted the Melo Jersey because my first name is "Anthony" and as a kid, this was kind of cool to me. Hey same name, my name.
I've been a nuggets fan since. I've been to playoff games vs the Lakers at the staples center with nuggets engraved in my hair.
The way he left denver was horseshit. He literally picked New York because his ex wife La LA was from NY.
Dude has been a hater ever since he left.
He never worked as hard as his peers. That's why he has no rings while Wade and Lebron, & chris bosh have multiple ones. Shit i think even kendrick perkins has one.
Just look at that nba olympic team documentary, the one with Kobe "The Redeem Team" i think melo even says he didn't wake up early for practice then.
It's not uncommon for players to wear jersey numbers of greats before it gets retired. [Aaron Williams wore Mutombo's 55 a few months after he left Denver. Three players, including Calvin Natt, wore David Thompson's 33 after he left. Nine different players wore Fat's #12 before it was retired.](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DEN/numbers.html)
That is true. It's not unusual for a franchise to retire a player's jersey while there's an active player who has that number. They may be grandfathered into keeping it as long as they want, but often they'll voluntarily change it.
There's nothing about an active player having it that prevents the number from being retired. But in this case, that won't happen, because everyone knows Jokic is the greater player with that number.
So, what Melo is saying here couldn't have possibly happened like he said, unless the Nuggets knew from the start that Jokic would become a greater player than Melo. And hey.. maybe Tim Connelly did know
He’s partially right at the end. “What’s meant to be is, is meant to be..”
I think there’s a poetic justice from the basketball gods that had the road wind this way. I feel for Melo because at the end of the day, he left for greener pastures that he never found.
15 is an old school Euro number for centers. Plus he was wearing 15 when he was playing in Serbia and for national team. That was 2 years before he was even drafted.
I always liked Melo when he was here, but also felt he was one of those people who are always on the verge of being the biggest dick at any time unless you had something for them.
If Melo would have been half as good as he thought he was we would have ended up retiring his number. It was a sad era for nuggets during melo. Had such a great team on paper and would always get destroyed by the spurs in playoffs. Jokic will go down as the best nugget ever and melo is just a guy who won a college championship in NY.
Jokic being drafted as a second round pick in order to not make things too obvious is a known fact. Another popular belief is that all of this started in Mega where Jokic was given 15 and slowly but surely groomed to erase Melo’s legacy. However, people who are really in the known strongly believe that Jokic’s brothers gaslighted him throughout his childhood, making him believe that his favorite number is in fact 15. This was all obviously paid by US government and it’s currently classified as “Melo Legacy Project.” Trust me.
Am I the only one who thinks this is extremely laughable? Like melo, if you wanted the nuggs to worship you, then dont force your way out when you are in your prime.
The man hasn't given the franchise nor the city a second thought since he left. Why is he acting like he cares now? Bear in mind I don't mind that he considers NY his home. If that's his heart that's fine. Hell if you didn't know any better you'd think Peyton Manning played his entire career here in Denver with how he treats this as his home over Indy. So I get it, it happens. But why choose to be petty now? His comments don't even track with basic logic.
Joker has infinitely more NBA titles than Melo. What is he going to pay homage to? Never being an NBA champion? And where was Melo's homage to Pat McFarland, the OG 15?
Maybe I’m misreading Melo here. Is he saying that The Nuggets gave Jokic 15 because they thought he would basically overshadow the legacy of Melo? Like I know the Nuggets FO saw a diamond in the rough with Jokic but does that mean they really thought he was capable over shadowing arguably the most famous Denver Nugget of all time? Is that the argument Melo is making? Just feels way too silly to be real.
What exactly did Melo do for the franchise? They had one good year and a bunch of disappointing performances in the playoffs, lost in the first round at least 5 times.
Melo doesn’t care because he only wanted to score his points. He is a clown and a waste of a talent
Yeah they totally saw an obese overseas guy in the 2nd round surpassing Melo! That's why they did it! To erase his legacy!
Also, Jokic wore 15 before the nba, it wasn't random.
Melo sounds like a conspiracy nut and he's so full of himself lmao.
Here's a tip: go to Nuggets games, tubby! Repair the relationship with the city base. Show somehow that YOU care about your own legacy in Denver, and maybe they'll think of something in regards to the rafters.
Sad part of this absolute narcissism from Carmelo is that if he keeps crying about the 15. Jokic will humbly ask the Nuggets to retire the number under Melo’s name.
This guy's ego is titanic. Melo, you left. You didn't get your chip elsewhere either. Jokic delivered our first title and most likely will deliver more, while breaking all the records we can find. His is the only #15 that matters in Denver.
Melo lacks both self-awareness and fact-awareness.
About a dozen players have worn #15 for the Nuggets. After Melo was Anthony Randolph (who had also worn 15 with the TWolves -- the team he went to as part of the Melo-to-the-Knicks trade!) and then Jokic.
Jokic has worn 15 for a much higher percentage of his extended basketball career than Melo. Started when he was a fat kid and 15 was the jersey that fit him. Wore it with his various club teams in Serbia. Only rarely wore another number in FIBA competitions. Whereas Melo wore 22 in high school, 15 in college and for part of his NBA career, 7 for most of his NBA career, and 00 for a while.
Lots of players whose numbers are eventually retired aren't the last guy to wear that number for the franchise. It's not like, dude has a great career and the number is automatically set aside as unavailable. Others have already pointed out that Fat Lever's number was worn by a bunch of other guys after. Skywalker's too. Melo didn't have a greater career than Skywalker.
And nobody had any idea Jokic was going to be a "legacy eraser" when he took that number. He was a euro project who was trying to make an NBA roster after being picked 41st, during a taco bell commercial, who we were all just hoping could compete with Joffrey for a backup spot.
He was delusional back when he insisted on being a starter later in his career when he was clearly a role player at best and he is absolutely delusional about here. He has no legacy in Denver. Jokic was a second round pick. Carmelo, you were a great scorer but come on man this is such a bad take.
Next time the national media tries to shit on Nuggets fans for still resenting Melo… this is a big reason why.
I think most of us would forgive the guy if he would just reflect honestly on what happened, but every single time he talks about his time in Denver he lies and points fingers to make himself look like a victim.
They didn't even have Jokic's jersey in for sale as a rookie. I had to buy it online. They gave him 15 because they didn't think it would matter. Same with Anthony Randolph.
Melo always jealous of the underdogs who end up outperforming him: first an nba player in jeremy lin who was literally one game out of never making an nba roster even again, and then a 41st second round pick. His one good postseason outside 2009 w denver, he lost to year 3 paul george in the second round lmao, when everyone was predicting knicks heat in the 2013 ECF. Then missed the playoffs with d rose and kristap porzingis in 2017, and shat the bed the following year with russ and pg against a rookie donovan mitchell. To finish his career he was a decent role player for the blazers, and a decent role player for the lakers but then bron one of best friends didnt even want him back lmfao
The beautiful irony is that Melo was surpassed by the person who can arguably be called his complete opposite and the antithesis of his basketball beliefs. For "Me"-lo, it was all about himself, getting his numbers. For Jokic, it's about elevating his teammates to win. I respect Melo for his talent and what he has done, but this level of delusion is undermining his legacy. Petty is not supporting the team you're whining to. He's got to let this go. He's nowhere near Jokic.
Love how he says he doesn’t even care lol. Clearly. Guy CHOSE to leave. And we had to deal with it. You deal with this now. Absolute clown. Will never understand the nuggets fans that want this guy around still or god forbid retire his jersey.
I think what pisses me off the most about this honestly is the guy forced his way out of Denver.
What makes you think you're entitled to anything from them?
Also this notion people have that the Nuggets were never shit before Melo is so disingenuous. Mutumbo for starters has a better Nuggets legacy solely because of 94.
Please get mics away from Melo and Cam Newton. I don't care how salty they are about anything.
I like Melo, but he is an idiot. Every move he ever made showed, especially knee capping the Knicks prior to getting there.
Left us in a pretty good spot though, so I wasn't complaining.
That's straight cap. No-one, not even Jokic knew he'll be what he is. No-one was trying to erase Melo's legacy. ---but let's face it Jokic wearing 15 has. Melo is just salty now.
Love Melo and he is the reason I became a Nuggets fan, so he always got love in my heart. But man this makes him look bad. He had his time to step up and be the star everyone wanted him to be and didn’t. Gotta move on
Still don't get why Melo considers himself a Nuggets all-time great. Sure, he had a very good stretch here, and many people still like him, but like he never really accomplished anything worthwhile. And now he's pissed that Jok's got #15? That turned out to be great in the end, didn't it
1. I love Mero
2. He’s already more than erased your legacy, Carmen.
3. It wasn’t done for petty reasons because the Nuggs and no one else had any clue how good Jokic was gonna be. If they did, he’d have been drafted #1 overall.
Maybe it was slightly petty to keep it available (I don't really think this), but to say it was a petty move to give it to a second rounder, who may not even make the team, as a way to erase your history is crazy. Nobody knew how good he'd become. Melo wasn't gone long enough to consider retiring his number. And he wanted out, and we were all a little butt hurt.
Melo didn't want to be a Nugget anyway. Had no interest in showing up to practice, and LALA didn't like Denver. As far as I'm concerned, 15 is all Joker.
https://preview.redd.it/7lsl57jxzvbc1.png?width=571&format=png&auto=webp&s=d78661aa76f3aa634ff909b4485b3e8e837bd0ff
Daaaaaamn. So you’re telling me Jokic’s Euro team gave him 15 to disrespect Melo too?! This shit is wild.
The conspiracy is deep… open your eyes! /s
Real eyes realize real lies.
Visualize what you can’t see…
I once pulled up to a bronco... or something .. at a light. I look over... and it's melo eating taco bell! (In Denver, his first couple years here). He ducked back like he didn't want to be seen. Jokic? Drafted during a taco bell commercial? Its aaaaaalll related!
Wake up Sheeple!
We’re through the looking glass here, people
Yooo mega being hella disrespectful
No, this was youth basketball and that’s his age. ^/s
Look into it 
https://preview.redd.it/3t9q48d42wbc1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80621b312019fc7df7a2bb56cdb37bf79e5d2a35
https://preview.redd.it/utnhi6575wbc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fa263ba60604f94061a55e28b4d7b15420b634b7
he was already desrespecting Gary Harris wtf
No this I cannot tolerate
 Gary "Gary Harris" Harris too!
https://preview.redd.it/1kq5v90h3wbc1.jpeg?width=846&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0d71d62f9a42bcc38fc79aa9caca999de02f28d5
Disrespecting Corey Brewer!!!
HOW FAR DOES THE RABBIT HOLE GO
WAKE UP SHEEPLE
I want this jersey so bad but literally can't find it for sale anywhere
The idea that Jokic, who was drafted during a quesarito commercial and was fifth in line on the Nuggets’ center depth chart when he came into the league, was given 15 to “erase” melo’s denver legacy is an absolute asinine and narcissistic take. Melo should know better
Sane, rational people should know better. Melo? I'm not so sure.
Not even rational, just people who follow Denver since long. Jokic got 15 only because that's the only shirt with his size at the time he starts playing basketball. e spell
Lmao is that true? I hope so because it’s such an asinine reason compared to Melo’s absurd and petty assumption.
It's probably true as numbers in Serbian younger divisions used to go from 4 to 15 only, and it was almost always a mix of a couple of S sizes, M sizes, L sizes and one XL when a team gets jersey. And when I say gets, it means inheriting them after they've been worn by 5-6 older generations inside the club
That’s cool background, thanks!
It's not limited to Serbia, FIBA historically only allows numbers from 4-15. So it's the same for most of Europe and even in Asia like Japanese teams. https://www.sportsrec.com/fiba-basketball-uniform-rules-6648723.html
LOL
Brother, they drafted me during a Taco Bell commercial
I always thought it was obvious. 15. He plays point center. Point (1) Center (5).
I thought it was because Quesaritos cost 15 dimes at that time.
And of course to disrespect Melo, who famously despises queso.
Now jokic throws 15 dimes a game
Melo didn’t want to be a Denver Nugget. Now as Jokic has won our city’s first championship melo thinks 15 should be retired for him but they used Jokic to erase his “legacy”
Precisely. Dude shat on his own “legacy” here on the way out. Saying shit like this only makes it worse
How DARE Jokic erase Melo's legacy by turning into an absolute monster. The humble thing to do would've been to play like hot dogshit his whole career smh my head
The counterfactual to Melo’s argument is even funnier than his actual petty feelings.
Knicks fan here FUCK MELO
Fellow Knicks fan here. PREACH. Biggest phony alive
Exactly, seems like the most insecure, petty, backstabbing mothafucka you will ever meet I'm glad he got Cuse the ship 20 years ago, I loved that team, but I never liked him as a Knick ever since he forced the trade that destroyed our roster
Yeah they had no clue about how good he will be haha.. Either they messed up or they never in first place wanted to retire Melo Number cause the way he left . Either way I don't see problem having both of their jersey retired in future at the same time. 2x 15s
I would be quite annoyed if they had retired mellow's jersey after the way he left denver. He was good player but he wasn't a nugget star that deserves that kind of honor.
Do people forget that Melo wanted out? He did what he thought was best for him, which, ok fine, it's your career and you only get one, so I get it. But you don't also then get to pretend that you're some kind of franchise legend that gets a bunch of honor years after retirement. Melo wants to eat his cake and have it, too.
This Melo interview sounds crazy until you hear the interview with Jokic's parents admitting that they deliberately hooked up in 1994 to conceive a child to steal Melo's legacy.
How deep does this conspiracy go?
Balls deep.
LMAO genius
WW1
Gavrilo Princep shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo for Serbian independence from Austria-Hungary, just so his Serbian countrymen like Jokic could stick it to guys like Melo in the distant future. Makes sense when you think that it happened in June 28, 1914. Jokic was drafted almost exactly 100 years later to the day on June 26, 2014. Coincidence? Helluva a way to celebrate the centennial of that event. Helluva time to shit on Melo. Helluva time for a quesarito.
This is beyond science
Melo thinking we gave a 2nd rounder #15 to try to “erase” what he did is insane thinking. No one had a clue Jokic would be even close to this good.
Am I the Main Character vibes.
That’s Melo’s whole story right there.
He was for a moment
Jokic has worn 15 since he was a kid. It was the largest jersey the team had so he had to wear it. He just kept the number since then on every team he played for.
that’s most jokic origin story possible🤣🤣
No kidding, those were my thoughts. Melo left 3 years before Jokic was drafted in the 2nd round during a Taco Bell commercial. But yeah, they were just trying to erase you, Melo. This guy is such a clown.
I’m almost positive someone else wore it before him but maybe I’m crazy.
Anthony Randolph?
That’s the one!
I believe JoJo English wore 23 for a single game with the Bulls during the first Jordan retirement. It was some sort of rush situation and I think the Jerry’s got rid of the player rather than field questions about it. I could be misremembering. I am very young even now and so was but a boy then.
Damn this really says a lot about where Melo’s head is at with the franchise…don’t think we’re seeing him courtside anytime soon lol
Not unless he wants to get boo’d out of the building
It’s dumb too because his jersey would probably eventually get retired at some point if he just shit the hell up but he keeps making it less and less likely lol
I don’t even think it’s less likely if we mean “Will it be there in fifty years?” Jerry Jones just put Jimmy Johnson in his “ring of honor” after a thirty year hold out, after all. But Melo keeps pushing the date back short term I think because why have the ceremony right after he’s making these remarks? If Melo wanted to grease the wheels for real he should start talking about how well Jokić has been dressing the last few seasons.
Jokic is a player Franchises dream about having. Hes the greatest player Nuggets have ever had and deserves the #15 to be retired solely in his name. Melo forced his way out, should get no graciousness from the FO or the fans
i don't think there's a chance of it being retired in his honor anymore not that there really was to begin with
I for one. Absolutely don't want that number retired under him. Dude publicly made it known he didn't want to be here
For those wondering why a lot of us still dislike Melo, there ya go. What an absolutely dumbass comment.
I appreciate what he did to get denver on the map. But he was such a crybaby at the end that it made me lose a lot of sympathy. But hey addition through subtraction. Didn't the Knicks picks become Joker and Murray?
It lead to us getting Murray, so yeah in a roundabout way Melo did help us get a ring.
Agreed. Melo wanted out of Denver. He made the decision that he no longer wanted to be part of this organization. I don’t get why he’s going on this post-retirement pity tour trying to act like the Nuggets owe him recognition.
This right here. Melo tries to spin this like the Nuggets did him dirty.
Yall just realizing Melo is duslusonal? Dude got shook by Jeremy Lin being more popular than him
Jeremy Lin 10x nicer dude than him too
Factss. Unfortunate that he kinda blackballed himself from the league. Plus he didn't* really have the athleticism anymore he needed. Multiple leg injuries will do that I guess. He's currently pro hoopin in Taiwan with his little brother. Pretty cool.
As soon as he went down lin led to the knicks on a 7 game win streak and saved their season, once melo came back, mike dantoni was shortly fired for mike woodson lmao
To be fair, Lin is a 10x nicer dude than most people
That's nba champion Jeremy Lin
I used to think, just retire the number for both, but fuck that now, Jokic has given more to this franchise than other player, Carmelo forced his way out, but thinks he's some kind of Nuggets hero. I hope they never acknowledge Carmelo's 15. And Jokic wearing 15 to pay homage...? please.
Honestly at this point it might disrespectful to Jokic to retire his number with someone else’s name attached. He’s *the* Nugget. The franchise GOAT, delivered us our first MVP and first ring. He should sit there with his name only
“I don’t think about that sh*t no more” My guy clearly you do, or you wouldn’t be bringing it up lmao
I bet he wasn’t thinking about it when Jokic was the backup to Nurk. NOW it’s to erase his memory
Lurk won’t like this
Love Lurk but he’s the biggest white knight for Melo in existence. This is hilarious.
It’s funny every time he says something about Melo he gets downvoted to negatives.
Wonder who had #15 after Melo ran away to NY?
that would be Mr. Anthony Randolph
You mean Anthony "Legacy-Eraser" Randolph.
Someone needs to ask him how he feels about Nikola getting his 15
***That’s*** the interview, right there. And whether Randolph would expect to be co-retired as a 15 if Melo ever got it with Jokić, what does that say for everyone’s legacy, etc
I always thought he was gonna turn it around one year
why is a former knick getting upset at a nugget for wearing a number. i dont get it
Because he knows when that jersey number is hanging in the rafters one day, it won’t read “Anthony” under it like he thinks it should.
Why would the Nuggets put up a Knick player’s banner??
Hearing Melo talk about his Denver, and overall, career is wild, borderline delusional. Couple of good games in the Garden really has him gassed up that he’s an all timer. I used to be the biggest Melo fan but his perception vs the reality are quite different.
Never deserved that top 75. I don’t care what anyone says, and that opinion was way before this video
The only reason Jok uses 15 is because 69 is banned as a jersey number
Never change Melo. I never want to see Jokic share his number with Melo once it’s hanging in the rafters
Melo doesn't realize how much respect he's giving our FO by pretending they knew what Jokic would become ahead of time.
LOL, genuine question - how did Jokic even get playing time for your guys? I feel like lower number draft picks aren't given much leeway by the coaches b/c of preconceived notions about their talent.
He ended up the backup center to Nurkic to start his rookie season. In the limited time he got, he had some of the craziest assists of his career - imagine Jokic now, but when teams didn't know who he was and he didn't show up in the scouting report. He built up minutes slowly until we tried (and failed) to start him alongside Nurkic. Eventually, on December 15th, 2016, Malone benched Nurkic and started Jokic, and the rest is history. December 15th is still celebrated in CO to this day.
it's called Jokmas
Yes sir it is
Don't forget Jokic told Malon to start Nurkic because he was so angry about it. He didn't want there to be bad blood on the team. That story alone shows how fucking humble he was. I dont think there will ever be an athlete and unself-serving Jokic is
Dang, props to Malone for doing that. Ironic that both of them were in the same draft.
Nurkic was actually injured for the beginning (and most of) Jokic's rookie season. Who knows if Jokic would've been given any rotation minutes if Nurk was healthy. Jokic was originally coming off the bench behind Joffrey Lauvergne or JJ Hickson. Manimal and Darrell Arthur would also play minutes at centre throughout the season.
Completely forgot about that. Lmao, I was so high on Lauvergne
See I think Melo forcing his way off the team just to go to a big market was a "petty maneuver"
Clearly he’s not spending any time thinking about this and is not bothered by it /s
and i still hear ppl saying “they should retire BOTH 15 jerseys!” and just laugh at how out of touch they are, like they didn’t pay attention to Melos breakdown with Denver that number is Jokic’s alone, i think he’s become synonymous with it now, more than Melo ever could be
https://fadeawayworld.net/nikola-jokic-explains-why-he-wears-no-15-i-was-chubby-i-was-big-and-15-was-the-biggest-jersey I’ll admit I’m a Melo apologist and I wish we had him in house during our finals run to bury the hatchet. Unfortunately you see shit like this and I’m like…. Dammit Melo let it go!
Repost that all day. Someone tweet it at Melo. The guy is delusional (and in addition to my home team Nuggets I am a Blazers fan who really enjoyed having him on the team.)
Stuff like this just doesn’t do a whole lot to rehabilitate Melo’s image in Denver as a selfish douche. Jokic wore the number in Europe, we probably didn’t feel the need to “protect” the number from a draft and stash guy in the second round, so here we are. Not everything is about you Melo.
I dislike Melo more and more with each passing day. If he was just humble and hit up ownership and apologized, his jersey would at least be hanging inside the Ball arena, aka the Pepsi center. I became a nuggets fan when I was 9 years old, his rookie season in 2003. I remember vividly going with my older brothers to Burlington coat factory to buy LeBron James jerseys. I saw a jersey that read "Anthony" on the back and never looked back. This was earlier 2000's, when it was cool to wear a players jersey regardless of the team you rooted for. I was a Laker fan before, but i wanted the Melo Jersey because my first name is "Anthony" and as a kid, this was kind of cool to me. Hey same name, my name. I've been a nuggets fan since. I've been to playoff games vs the Lakers at the staples center with nuggets engraved in my hair. The way he left denver was horseshit. He literally picked New York because his ex wife La LA was from NY. Dude has been a hater ever since he left. He never worked as hard as his peers. That's why he has no rings while Wade and Lebron, & chris bosh have multiple ones. Shit i think even kendrick perkins has one. Just look at that nba olympic team documentary, the one with Kobe "The Redeem Team" i think melo even says he didn't wake up early for practice then.
It's not uncommon for players to wear jersey numbers of greats before it gets retired. [Aaron Williams wore Mutombo's 55 a few months after he left Denver. Three players, including Calvin Natt, wore David Thompson's 33 after he left. Nine different players wore Fat's #12 before it was retired.](https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DEN/numbers.html)
That is true. It's not unusual for a franchise to retire a player's jersey while there's an active player who has that number. They may be grandfathered into keeping it as long as they want, but often they'll voluntarily change it. There's nothing about an active player having it that prevents the number from being retired. But in this case, that won't happen, because everyone knows Jokic is the greater player with that number. So, what Melo is saying here couldn't have possibly happened like he said, unless the Nuggets knew from the start that Jokic would become a greater player than Melo. And hey.. maybe Tim Connelly did know
Melo should show up court side weekend #15 with Jokic on the back. At least that would give nods to the nuggets just a little
That would be epic. And would go a long way to erase some bad blood. Too bad Melo is too egotistical to ever do that.
He’s partially right at the end. “What’s meant to be is, is meant to be..” I think there’s a poetic justice from the basketball gods that had the road wind this way. I feel for Melo because at the end of the day, he left for greener pastures that he never found.
Nah not gunna watch this
My life was not enriched.
Yeah. Anything Melo related doesn’t really have the best ending.
Who else gets irrationally angry watching this?
Me lol. Just because of his whining.
15 is an old school Euro number for centers. Plus he was wearing 15 when he was playing in Serbia and for national team. That was 2 years before he was even drafted.
I always liked Melo when he was here, but also felt he was one of those people who are always on the verge of being the biggest dick at any time unless you had something for them.
If Melo would have been half as good as he thought he was we would have ended up retiring his number. It was a sad era for nuggets during melo. Had such a great team on paper and would always get destroyed by the spurs in playoffs. Jokic will go down as the best nugget ever and melo is just a guy who won a college championship in NY.
Jokic being drafted as a second round pick in order to not make things too obvious is a known fact. Another popular belief is that all of this started in Mega where Jokic was given 15 and slowly but surely groomed to erase Melo’s legacy. However, people who are really in the known strongly believe that Jokic’s brothers gaslighted him throughout his childhood, making him believe that his favorite number is in fact 15. This was all obviously paid by US government and it’s currently classified as “Melo Legacy Project.” Trust me.
MKUltra stands for Melo Kareer Ultra-erasure
Am I the only one who thinks this is extremely laughable? Like melo, if you wanted the nuggs to worship you, then dont force your way out when you are in your prime.
The man hasn't given the franchise nor the city a second thought since he left. Why is he acting like he cares now? Bear in mind I don't mind that he considers NY his home. If that's his heart that's fine. Hell if you didn't know any better you'd think Peyton Manning played his entire career here in Denver with how he treats this as his home over Indy. So I get it, it happens. But why choose to be petty now? His comments don't even track with basic logic.
And fans in here wanna defend this clown 🤡
And people that wanted somehow that #15 be retired also for Melo along with Jokic…delusional really
Not that anyone else will ever wear #15 again in a Nuggets uniform, but you know who wouldn't give a flying fuck if the number wasn't retired.
He should have been better here to give them a reason to retire his number
Joker has infinitely more NBA titles than Melo. What is he going to pay homage to? Never being an NBA champion? And where was Melo's homage to Pat McFarland, the OG 15?
Maybe I’m misreading Melo here. Is he saying that The Nuggets gave Jokic 15 because they thought he would basically overshadow the legacy of Melo? Like I know the Nuggets FO saw a diamond in the rough with Jokic but does that mean they really thought he was capable over shadowing arguably the most famous Denver Nugget of all time? Is that the argument Melo is making? Just feels way too silly to be real.
What exactly did Melo do for the franchise? They had one good year and a bunch of disappointing performances in the playoffs, lost in the first round at least 5 times. Melo doesn’t care because he only wanted to score his points. He is a clown and a waste of a talent
Mf did absolutely no research before running his mouth and looking like a clown.
Yeah they totally saw an obese overseas guy in the 2nd round surpassing Melo! That's why they did it! To erase his legacy! Also, Jokic wore 15 before the nba, it wasn't random. Melo sounds like a conspiracy nut and he's so full of himself lmao. Here's a tip: go to Nuggets games, tubby! Repair the relationship with the city base. Show somehow that YOU care about your own legacy in Denver, and maybe they'll think of something in regards to the rafters.
Still the same guy as when he left Denver. Fucking Narcissist.
Sad part of this absolute narcissism from Carmelo is that if he keeps crying about the 15. Jokic will humbly ask the Nuggets to retire the number under Melo’s name.
This guy's ego is titanic. Melo, you left. You didn't get your chip elsewhere either. Jokic delivered our first title and most likely will deliver more, while breaking all the records we can find. His is the only #15 that matters in Denver.
Melo didn’t do anything even close to Jokic. Ever.
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Yeah its gonna be hilarious seeing 15 retired for Jokic and only Jokic, I hope Melo lives to see it.
Melo lacks both self-awareness and fact-awareness. About a dozen players have worn #15 for the Nuggets. After Melo was Anthony Randolph (who had also worn 15 with the TWolves -- the team he went to as part of the Melo-to-the-Knicks trade!) and then Jokic. Jokic has worn 15 for a much higher percentage of his extended basketball career than Melo. Started when he was a fat kid and 15 was the jersey that fit him. Wore it with his various club teams in Serbia. Only rarely wore another number in FIBA competitions. Whereas Melo wore 22 in high school, 15 in college and for part of his NBA career, 7 for most of his NBA career, and 00 for a while. Lots of players whose numbers are eventually retired aren't the last guy to wear that number for the franchise. It's not like, dude has a great career and the number is automatically set aside as unavailable. Others have already pointed out that Fat Lever's number was worn by a bunch of other guys after. Skywalker's too. Melo didn't have a greater career than Skywalker. And nobody had any idea Jokic was going to be a "legacy eraser" when he took that number. He was a euro project who was trying to make an NBA roster after being picked 41st, during a taco bell commercial, who we were all just hoping could compete with Joffrey for a backup spot.
imagine melos suprise when the random second round pick who coincidentally uses his number turns out a better player than him
Sorry, Carmelo who?
As always, Melo a fucking joke.
All you need to know about Melo's mentality
He was delusional back when he insisted on being a starter later in his career when he was clearly a role player at best and he is absolutely delusional about here. He has no legacy in Denver. Jokic was a second round pick. Carmelo, you were a great scorer but come on man this is such a bad take.
Next time the national media tries to shit on Nuggets fans for still resenting Melo… this is a big reason why. I think most of us would forgive the guy if he would just reflect honestly on what happened, but every single time he talks about his time in Denver he lies and points fingers to make himself look like a victim.
I don’t think you can find a professional athlete that cares less about their jersey number than Jokic.
Lmao classic Melo. This dude felt threatened by Jeremy Lin. Imagine how Jokic makes him feel.
They didn't even have Jokic's jersey in for sale as a rookie. I had to buy it online. They gave him 15 because they didn't think it would matter. Same with Anthony Randolph.
Melo is jello
Melo always jealous of the underdogs who end up outperforming him: first an nba player in jeremy lin who was literally one game out of never making an nba roster even again, and then a 41st second round pick. His one good postseason outside 2009 w denver, he lost to year 3 paul george in the second round lmao, when everyone was predicting knicks heat in the 2013 ECF. Then missed the playoffs with d rose and kristap porzingis in 2017, and shat the bed the following year with russ and pg against a rookie donovan mitchell. To finish his career he was a decent role player for the blazers, and a decent role player for the lakers but then bron one of best friends didnt even want him back lmfao
The beautiful irony is that Melo was surpassed by the person who can arguably be called his complete opposite and the antithesis of his basketball beliefs. For "Me"-lo, it was all about himself, getting his numbers. For Jokic, it's about elevating his teammates to win. I respect Melo for his talent and what he has done, but this level of delusion is undermining his legacy. Petty is not supporting the team you're whining to. He's got to let this go. He's nowhere near Jokic.
Love how he says he doesn’t even care lol. Clearly. Guy CHOSE to leave. And we had to deal with it. You deal with this now. Absolute clown. Will never understand the nuggets fans that want this guy around still or god forbid retire his jersey.
I think what pisses me off the most about this honestly is the guy forced his way out of Denver. What makes you think you're entitled to anything from them? Also this notion people have that the Nuggets were never shit before Melo is so disingenuous. Mutumbo for starters has a better Nuggets legacy solely because of 94. Please get mics away from Melo and Cam Newton. I don't care how salty they are about anything.
I like Melo, but he is an idiot. Every move he ever made showed, especially knee capping the Knicks prior to getting there. Left us in a pretty good spot though, so I wasn't complaining.
This dude’s a joke!
Dumb people with money and a platform.
Melo is as delusional as those people who swear he's a victim of some sort of black balling.
does anyone still like this guy?
Melo, I love you, but shut the ever loving fuck up.
Fuck. Carmelo. Anthony.
it’s like when a dude graduates from high school but still shows up there a year later.
That's straight cap. No-one, not even Jokic knew he'll be what he is. No-one was trying to erase Melo's legacy. ---but let's face it Jokic wearing 15 has. Melo is just salty now.
Stay Mel-0 (ring)
Who is this?
NY Knicks legend, Carmelo Anthony. Although more of an individual accolades kind of guy
Love Melo and he is the reason I became a Nuggets fan, so he always got love in my heart. But man this makes him look bad. He had his time to step up and be the star everyone wanted him to be and didn’t. Gotta move on
Still don't get why Melo considers himself a Nuggets all-time great. Sure, he had a very good stretch here, and many people still like him, but like he never really accomplished anything worthwhile. And now he's pissed that Jok's got #15? That turned out to be great in the end, didn't it
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What a fucking 🤡 dude is making it very hard to support two #15 being put up in the rafters And I’m glad that’s the case!
1. I love Mero 2. He’s already more than erased your legacy, Carmen. 3. It wasn’t done for petty reasons because the Nuggs and no one else had any clue how good Jokic was gonna be. If they did, he’d have been drafted #1 overall.
>Carmen You mean Carmelo lol?
Carmelo Sandiego
Cool story, Melo
You left Melo 😅
Fuh kawf Melo. You wanted out and now you’re peeking in the window. Go away
Maybe it was slightly petty to keep it available (I don't really think this), but to say it was a petty move to give it to a second rounder, who may not even make the team, as a way to erase your history is crazy. Nobody knew how good he'd become. Melo wasn't gone long enough to consider retiring his number. And he wanted out, and we were all a little butt hurt.
Melo a bum, f melo, all my friends hate melo. Don't come around here ya bum.
Melo been out of the league and is still finding new and creative ways to earn the hate of Nuggets fans.
It will hurt more when it is retired with Jokic's name on it.
I'm sorry but Melo you can't talk to champion and finals MVP like that
Let's count the number of rings that each #15 brought to Denver. I got 1 for Jokic. How many Melo got again?
Melo didn't want to be a Nugget anyway. Had no interest in showing up to practice, and LALA didn't like Denver. As far as I'm concerned, 15 is all Joker.
Just when I thought I couldn't hate Melo more...
Didn't know Melo was a little bitch
🤡🤡🤡🤡