With Carmelo Anthony officially being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend, praise is pouring in from all corners of the basketball world. Notably, former University of Colorado and Nuggets great Chauncey Billups, in an interview with Marc Spears of Andscape, called for the Nuggets to retire Melo’s number.
Billups, the current head coach of the Trail Blazers, was teammates with Anthony in Denver for their 2009 Western Conference Finals run, and originally hails from the Denver area. He said that the Nuggets should have honored Anthony by raising his jersey to the rafters the moment he retired.
He repeatedly referred to Carmelo as one of the greatest and most important players in franchise history and talked about how much he meant to the organization and how fans in the area still love and appreciate him to this day.
Anthony jersey retirement complicated by Jokic
It sounds simple, but the history between Carmelo and the Nuggets is much more complicated than that. While everything Billups said was true, Anthony didn’t exactly leave on the best of terms, essentially forcing his way out of Denver, and requesting a trade to the Knicks.
He and the franchise haven’t exactly reconciled, and in the time since he was in Denver, another player has come to town and worn the same number 15 that Carmelo did. Nikola Jokic wears the number now and has become the unquestionable best player in the franchise's history.
The idea of hanging number 15 in the rafters for Carmelo would be a bit awkward, considering Jokic is still going strong. They obviously aren’t going to make the Joker change his number - nor should they - and at this point, he has earned the number to himself anyway.
Nuggets should embrace Carmelo
While Chauncey may have gone a bit far, overall, his sentiment is a good one. The franchise should make a concerted effort to repair its relationship with Anthony and to bring him back into the fold. There’s no reason they can’t get creative and find a way to honor him in a way that doesn’t encroach on Jokic’s jersey number.
Carmelo was truly a legendary Nugget. It’s time to bury the hatchet and move on. They can extend an olive branch, and I’m sure, at this point, he would be happy to come back and connect with the city and fanbase where his incredible career started.
It would also be incredible for the vibes, and seeing him courtside at Ball Arena during a playoff game would be amazing.