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Carmelo Anthony’s Former Teammate Goes Off on George Karl for Blatant Disrespect

Published 02/22/2024, 11:56 PM EST

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It is no news that the former Nuggets coach George Karl had a strained relationship with some of his fellow students. While these big names of the basketball world have now retired, the enmity between them has not been resolved. In fact, his beef with Carmelo Anthony has been the talk of the town as the two continue to throw shade at each other. Continuing on the same subject with Gilbert Arenas is Melo’s former teammate and friend, Kenyon Martin, discussing their hardened terms with the Hall of Famer coach.

The former Nuggets player and 2004 NBA All-Star Kenyon Martin revealed facts about the disrespect Karl showed Melo. The first overall pick of the 2000 Draft said, “How can a guy (Melo) who was third pick in a draft, that should’ve won Rookie of the Year, that led his team to the playoffs as a rookie, you (George Karl) come in his second year, how is that guy overrated?” Evidently, Kenyon’s reaction was to Karl’s comment on Carmelo Anthony being overrated.

He continued his bashful comments on the former coach saying, “He did it here, he did it to Boogie. This is like you had your mind made up about guys before you step into the building… These pre-conceived notions about who you think a person is, how you’re gonna deal with ’em, how their game is, how they’re gonna fit to you. It ain’t f*****g about you!”

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The 2004 NBA All-Star added more critical inputs. “You benefitted from us, our talents. If you think he is overrated, we bad basketball players, forfeit them f*****g wins… We didn’t make the playoffs because of you, talent got us there. We got there despite of you… You were handicapping us as a f*****g team. Because you think you’re more important than us.” The three still have not gotten on the right foot.

Surely, these sentiments did not come out without a reason. After several years under George Karl, both Carmelo and Kenyon got to know their coach better.

George Karl has been extremely critical of Carmelo Anthony

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Apparently, Karl confessed in his book ‘Furious George: My Forty Years Surviving NBA Divas’ about his difficulties in connecting personally with players like Melo. A few days ago, he even petitioned for the Nuggets to retire Nikola Jokic’s No.15 jersey, calling him the best No.15 in franchise history and tagging Carmelo Anthony in it, who also wore 15 during his time in the Mile High City.

via Imago

However, Karl has mentioned several times that Carmelo Anthony was the best offensive player he has ever coached. At the end of the day, many still believe that Carmelo was more focused on his personal gains. And that he was not a team player as he refused to play at the defensive front. It is also true that it was George’s duty to connect with his players, though. The Nuggets fans will surely hope that these stars resolve their differences after all these years.

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Written by:

Srashti Sharma

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Srashti Sharma is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports, known for her in-depth researching skills. From the very first time that she heard about Kobe Bryant, she herself cultivated a Mamba Mentality. She loves the competitive nature of the sport which fuels her inner sportswoman.
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Edited by:

Pragya Vashisth