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George Karl’s Viral Nikola Jokic Birthday Wish Shocks NBA World: “INSANE Diss, He Really Hates Melo”

Published 02/19/2024, 10:14 PM EST

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The 2x NBA MVP Nikola Jokić has earned an undeniable spot in the Denver Nuggets franchise history. The Serbian star’s domination brought the team’s first-ever championship last season. On the other hand, the team also had various loyal and hardworking servicemen in the past. And one of them is Carmelo Anthony. The 2003 3rd overall pick went on to put up exciting performances in his 8-season-long journey with the Nuggets.

At the same time, he engaged in a feud with then-coach George Karl and it doesn’t seem to have ended, even after 20 years. Following Anthony’s recent remark on him, Karl took a direct jab at him on the account of Joker’s 29th birthday and the NBA world can’t get enough of it.

Karl took to his X handle to wish Nikola Jokic, who has turned 29 tonight. While he lauded the 6 ’11 player for his achievement, Karl also took the opportunity to trash Melo. The post read, “Happy bday to the champ, the ultimate team guy and the greatest player to wear #15 in Denver hoops history.” He also tagged Anthony on the post to make sure he doesn’t miss it. In response to the post, fans swarmed the comments, taken aback by the 20-year-long feud. One user said, “This is an INSANE diss he really hates Melo.” Here are some more reactions from fans.

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Notably, Melo wore #15 during his stay in Denver and changed to #7 after he moved out.

While some fans found it funny, some took jabs at the former coach for hitting back at the NBA Hall of Famer using a birthday wish.

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Let’s get to the bottom of it. Where did it all begin?

The Melo-George Karl feud

It all began after the recent podcast episode of 7pm to Brooklyn, where he recalled his first-ever interaction with Karl. Of course, it wasn’t a pleasant one, and it was enough to rekindle the feud 20 years later. In 2004, when Karl took over the head coach job, he got off on the wrong foot with Melo.

Melo recalled the incident and said, “He called me to his room and was like, ‘Hey, I think you’re overrated. You have a lot of work to do.’” And the feud bottled up to his exit in 2010. In response to the statement, Karl put out a post, which read, “You’re telling stories that are 20 years old. Let’s move fwd And u were overrated.” 

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And, a few days later, it isn’t still over for the former coach, as he trashed him with Jokic’s birthday wish.

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What do you make of the feud between George Karl and Carmelo Anthony? Will it end here? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Shahul Hameed

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Shahul Hameed is a Senior NBA Writer at EssentiallySports. Armed with a Master's Degree in journalism from a distinguished institute, his journey into sports writing began during his college days, and since then, Shahul has been captivated not only by the remarkable consistency of Stephen Curry but also by the enduring legacy of LeBron James. He specializes in covering the live basketball action.
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Edited by:

Sameen Nawathe