George Karl Says The Denver Nuggets Should Retire No. 15 For Nikola Jokic And Carmelo Anthony

The conversation around who should get their No. 15 jersey retired by the Nuggets is not a new one, but Nikola Jokic's continued dominance is making it harder and harder to make a case against him. In just eight years with the franchise, he brought them their first-ever NBA championship while averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game on 58.3% shooting.

As a 6x All-Star, 2x MVP, and 5x All-NBA player, Jokic is a sure-fire Hall of Famer and he's already moving up the ranks as one of the greatest Nuggets players ever. Of course, Carmelo Anthony never reached nearly the same heights as Jokic and he's taken the Nuggets further than anyone else before.

But it was Melo where the foundation was laid for the Nuggets' success and it was his tenure there that resulted in some of the franchise's best seasons. While he was never able to win a championship with the Nuggets, he did ultimately leave behind a legacy that should be celebrated, and George Karl, who coached Anthony on the Nuggets, would know more than anyone the kind of compact he had on the franchise.

Carmelo Says The Nuggets Gave Away His Number Out Of "Spite"

While Jokic is almost guaranteed to have his jersey retired, the situation isn't as simple with Carmelo. Many were surprised when the Nuggets let Jokic wear 15 after being drafted in 2014 and Melo says they only did it out of spite.

According to the former Nuggets swingman, they wanted to erase his legacy by letting Jokic completely overshadow his career. And while Jokic's play has indeed minimized Anthony's legacy, it's hard to believe they planned this from the start.

Jokic was a second-round pick that year and nobody had a clue how good he would become. As team owner/governor Nuggets Josh Kroenke later pointed out, giving Jokic 15 was just something he never thought about and Jokic's ascension into one of the greatest players ever was something that not even Jokic himself could have predicted.

Had Carmelo not requested a trade in 2009 and forced his way out, he might have had a chance to build a similar legacy with the Nuggets but he never gave himself the chance and now he'll have to live with the consequences.