After ending Michael Jordan’s media hiatus and reviving NBA nostalgia, NBC pulled another miracle. They reunited the finest #15s in NBA history. Of course, Vince Carter wore that number at Toronto and Brooklyn. It was more about what this number means to the Denver Nuggets. After Carmelo Anthony left it behind and went to New York, where #7 is iconic, Nikola Jokic arrived and made this number unforgettable again. When Melo interviewed Jokic, the mutual respect displayed had everyone claiming the ‘beef’ is squashed. What beef? Even Melo would like to know.

He brought back the subject while hosting his new colleague, Maria Taylor, on 7PM in Brooklyn this week. “I think the narrative could get misconstrued,” he said, because the truth is, “Like, I never had an issue.” And neither did The Joker.

Yet as Kazeem pointed, “To a fan’s eye, they’re going to see, ‘Great Denver Nuggets player comes to Denver. Wears 15? Of course, Melo’s not going to like him.’ Right?” To that, Anthony completely shrugged off responsibility and threw it at his co-host. “That’s you. I’ve never said that. You made that up.” Okay, Melo. But Kazeem’s spot on.

After winning the NCAA championship, the Syracuse legend was selected third overall in the star-studded ’03 draft by the Nuggets. He wore #15, turned around a laughably small market franchise, played alongside Allen Iverson, and everything was looking great.

Till the friction set in and Anthony demanded a trade in 2011. The bitter parting would sour his relationship with the Nuggets faithful. Denver only healed when a certain Serbian juggernaut wore #15 and did what Melo and AI couldn’t, by winning the 2023 championship.

It didn’t take much effort to paint Melo as bitter. In reality, he says, “Whatever my point of view is with the people at that time, it was at that time. You’re talking about 16 years ago. So, I don’t have no qualms or issues with Joker.”

Yes, so the supposed beef between the two bearers of #15 is unfounded. But the thing between Carmelo Anthony and his former team, though…

Carmelo Anthony’s ‘beef’ with Denver separate from him and Nikola Jokic

There is a huge debate on whether the Knicks and Nuggets should retire Carmelo Anthony’s jerseys after the way he elevated and then bitterly parted with both franchises. At least the Knicks and the Garden welcome him warmly every time (unlike the real beef between Charles Oakley and this team).

It’s trickier with Mile High City, where fans debate who #15 belongs to. Especially since the number won’t be retired while Jokic is actively wearing it.

Melo has no problem sharing that honor with an MVP like Nikola Jokic. Yet last year, he called out the franchise. “I believe is that they gave him 15 to try to erase what I did,” he claimed, adding that he knows Jokic wears it as a homage to him. The Joker wore #15 throughout his time in Serbia, and it made sense to him to continue that. But he acknowledged Melo’s legacy when he called him a “great player.”

The mutual respect, as Maria Taylor pointed out, was shown when Melo interviewed Jokic from the NBC studio. It gave Anthony the opportunity to show how much Denver also means to him. “I was excited to interview him. I’m like, ‘Oh sh–,’ Like, I get to represent Denver in a sense, too, and talk to somebody who’s playing for Denver, somebody who’s wearing number 15.”

That makes his new job as an NBA analyst extra special. He gets to squash all the false narratives about him and show respect to players he admires. And maybe we can see more #15 reunions in the future.