For a basketball player, getting his jersey retired is one of the highest achievements he can achieve. The organization does the commemoration of the athlete to honor the efforts and contributions the player made to make the team successful. In an interview, a veteran sports analyst talks about the missed golden chance in the NBA finals by the Denver Nuggets to celebrate and honor their franchise legend.

The 51-year-old specialist sheds light on the situation by discussing a similar scenario of Kevin Garnett, whose relationship with the Minnesota Timberwolves deteriorated after the organization did not award him what he deserved and another team acknowledged him. The 51-year-old media veteran emphasized the importance of maintaining relationships with the franchise legends.

Missed opportunity: Marc Spears on honoring franchise legend

Denver Nuggets are living in their best era after a long time. With Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Jamal Murray, the big three of the Nuggets won the first franchise NBA championship in 2023. However, the Nuggets had a golden opportunity to pay tribute to one of the most impactful players in their franchise history. 

In a podcast with ESPN’s senior NBA reporter, Marc Spears, the reporter pointed out a missed opportunity to commemorate one of the most impactful players of their franchise, Carmelo Anthony. The Nuggets selected the 39-year-old in one of the most appealing draft classes in 2003. Anthony instantly impacted the team and took them to the playoffs in his first year. Anthony scored the third-highest number of points in the franchise during his six years with the Denver Nuggets. However, Anthony’s legacy with the Nuggets came to an end after the team traded their marquee player to the New York Knicks in 2011.

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According to Spears, the finals would’ve been the perfect time to celebrate and honor Melo.

However, the Nuggets decided not to and went on to win the title. 

Nevertheless, hopefully, in the future, we get to see Anthony get what he deserves.

Unfulfilled Recognition: Kevin Garnett’s Absent Jersey in Minnesota

In the podcast, Marc also talks about a Hall of Famer who failed to be on the rafters of his first NBA home. The Minnesota Timberwolves have also neglected to raise their franchise icon, Kevin Garnett’s jersey, to the arena’s rafters. Kevin Garnett spent a total of twelve whole seasons before leaving for the Boston Celtics in a mega-trade. 

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During his time in Minnesota, Garnett gave his everything to win an NBA championship for the franchise. The Big Ticket, in just 12 seasons, became the franchise’s top scorer and single-handedly guided the team to a conference final before leaving for Boston. Timberwolves have more than one reason to retire the legendary #5 and honor the legend. 

However, Marc pointed out that KG refused to be honored due to a soured relationship with the management of the Timberwolves organization.

“Look at Minnesota with Kevin Garnett, no relationship, sad.” 

“Like you walk into the games there, KG is not in the rafters because he doesn’t want to be in the rafters.”

Marc Spears also highlighted that Boston retired KG’s jersey, despite him playing just five seasons, while the Timberwolves have yet to retire the jersey of their franchise’s leading scorer.