Carmelo Anthony attending an NFL game in Baltimore on Nov. 16, 2023
(Photo : Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Former NBA basketball player Carmelo Anthony looks on prior to the game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Nov. 16, 2023, in Baltimore.

Is former NBA player Carmelo Anthony suffering from a serious case of sour grapes where it concerns the Denver Nuggets?

On the fourth episode of "7PM in Brooklyn," a new show hosted by Anthony and The Kid Mero (aka Joel Martinez), the 10-time NBA All-Star addressed whether his jersey number with Denver, 15, should have eventually been retired by his former team instead of being given to two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.

Jokic, who led the Nuggets to their first-ever NBA title in 2023, was drafted by the reigning champions 41st overall in round two of the 2014 NBA Draft, three years after Anthony - picked third overall in 2003 by Denver - was traded to the New York Knicks.

"Did you feel a way when you seen my man (Nikola Jokic) go out there, 'I play (basketball), No. 15, I am No. 15?' " asked Martinez, 40, mimicking the Serbian center's accent in the latter part of the question.

"Yeah, hell yeah, because—" Anthony, 39, began to say.

"Did you think it was a petty maneuver?" Martinez asked, interrupting his co-host.

"Yeah, it was a petty maneuver," Anthony agreed.

"It wasn't like, 'Oh, we have numbers to choose from,' " Anthony continued. "It was like, 'Here, you got 15.' "

Anthony stated he hadn't thought much about his old number until the 2020s began, by which time Jokic had established himself as an all-star. As a result of Jokic's success, the conversation about the Nuggets' No. 15 jersey and comparisons of the two players became inexorable.

When Anthony thought about why the Nuggets gave another player his old number despite his history with the franchise, he concluded that it was rooted in the acrimony that defined his final days in Denver - specifically how sour his relationship with the team's front office at the time and local press had become after reports of his desire to be traded to New York started surfacing.

"So now (I) just start thinking this is because this is the narrative they put out there," said Anthony, who was finally traded on Feb. 22, 2011, to New York, where he'd play until 2017.

" ... But why would (the Nuggets organization) disrespect by even offering (No. 15)?" Anthony went on. "The disrespect in you offering that showed me that you just wanted to erase everything that came prior to that right there.

"So, yeah, f--k y'all. You said 'f--k me' dead smack to the rest of the world."

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Dec. 22, 2023
(Photo : Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets jogs during the first half against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Dec. 22, 2023, in the Brooklyn, N.Y.

During the 2010-11 season, Denver's general manager was Masai Ujiri, a longtime NBA executive who's presently the Toronto Raptors' president of basketball operations. If Ujiri and individuals who covered the Nuggets back then made Anthony look bad in the press, the former player certainly made their jobs easier with his well-documented history of clashing with then-Nuggets coach George Karl.

Jokic, 28, put to rest the theory that he randomly selected the number during his reaction to the viral "7PM in Brooklyn" clip, telling a room of reporters that he thinks he's been wearing No. 15 his "whole life."

He also described Anthony - currently ranked 11th on the NBA's all-time scoring list - as "a great player."

During Anthony's exchange with Martinez, the Brooklyn native made it known that he has no problem with Jokic, going as far as extending a shout-out to the 6-foot-11 big man.

Jokic, who won Finals MVP last year, has already delivered an NBA title to Mile High City. Anthony, who announced his retirement last May after 19 seasons, was never on a team that made it past a conference final, and his teams only made it that far once.

Adding insult to injury to Big Apple basketball fans who didn't enjoy the "Melo Era" of Knicks history (2011-17) is that one of those draft picks sent to Denver for Anthony was used on 2016-17 NBA All-Rookie Team member Jamal Murray, the all-star caliber shooting guard who's Robin to Jokic's Batman.

Led by a nucleus that also includes Michael Porter, Jr. and Aaron Gordon, Denver is set up to win. If Anthony is walking around with a figurative cup of wine made from sour grapes, it's because the Nuggets clearly came out winners in their nasty breakup with the player who used to wear No. 15 for them.