Carmelo Anthony: Nuggets Gave Nikola Jokić No. 15 Jersey to 'Try to Erase What I Did'

Carmelo Anthony believes the Denver Nuggets had an ulterior motive when they gave No. 15 to Nikola Jokić.

During an appearance on 7PM in Brooklyn, presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment, Anthony called giving Jokić the same jersey number he wore in Denver "a petty maneuver. It wasn't like, 'oh, we got numbers to choose from.' It was like, 'here, you got 15.'

He continued, saying, "Y'all put Jokić in the middle of that. He don't know what the f--k is going on. … He could have worn it because he wanted to pay homage, but what I believe is that they gave him 15 to try to erase what I did."

Jokić is now the face of the franchise, which Anthony recognized.

"When you think of 15 in Denver now, to this generation, you [think the] Joker," he said. "And there's nothing towards that. It's just, it was two different generations. So that just goes to show me that y'all [The Nuggets] not past that moment. This is 2010. This is 13 years ago. So if you are, you are holding on to something that was 13 years ago."

The Nuggets selected Anthony with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2003 draft, and he played there until the middle of his eighth season in the league when they traded him to the New York Knicks. He was a six-time All-Star who averaged 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game during his time with the organization.

He also led Denver to the playoffs in each of his seasons, including the 2009 run to the Western Conference Finals.

Perhaps the Nuggets could have retired his number, but he also pushed his way out when he requested a trade. And the Denver fans still booed him years later after the trade even when he was no longer on the Knicks.

It wasn't exactly the cleanest of breakups.

And now Jokić has done what Anthony was unable to do with the Nuggets and won a championship and two MVP awards. He is building a legacy that will likely end with him being remembered as the best player in franchise history.

Still, even the most optimistic Denver fans couldn't have foreseen this happening with the big man.

After all, he was a second-round pick who was famously drafted when a Taco Bell commercial was airing during the broadcast. That was also the 2014 draft, which was three years after the Nuggets traded Anthony.

It's not as if Denver immediately brought in a star and insisted he wore No. 15. Jokić was an afterthought of the 2014 draft at the time and was far from a lock to make people forget who wore the number before him.

Alas, Anthony feels like the Nuggets wanted to make a statement.