Carmelo Anthony retired from the NBA roughly nine months ago.

In retirement, it appears, the biggest thing he’s been missing about the game is the spotlight. Anthony has been making the media rounds, sharing some lesser-known stories of his time in the NBA and some of his own beliefs.

In a recent podcast appearance, Anthony claimed the Nuggets were trying to erase his legacy when they assigned the No. 15 jersey to Nikola Jokic.

Appearing on his New York-based podcast 7PM in Brooklyn, Anthony sounded off, calling the Nuggets assigning a jersey to Jokic “a petty maneuver. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we got numbers to choose from.’ It was like, ‘Here, you got 15.'”

He didn’t stop there, adding, “Y’all put Jokić in the middle of that. He don’t [sic] know what the (expletive) is going on. … He could have worn it because he wanted to pay homage, but what I believe is that they gave him ’15’ to try to erase what I did.”

There are a few counters for Anthony’s claim, however. For one, it assumes the Nuggets knew Jokic would become a two-time NBA MVP.

When Jokic was picked in the second round, 41st overall in 2014, his selection was so underwhelming that ESPN played a commercial for Taco Bell’s ‘Quesarito,’ a moment which is now looked back upon by Nuggets fans as a canon event in Jokic lore.

Hindsight is 20/20.

The other issue with Anthony’s claim is that Jokic has worn the number 15 since childhood.

As reported by Nick Kosmider of The Athletic back in 2019, Jokic originally “chose” the number because as a chubby kid growing up in Serbia, that number was the biggest jersey that was available.

Jokic also continued to wear the number when playing professionally for Serbian club Mega Basket, well before he was drafted by Denver.

Whether or not his claims are valid, the statements could be chalked up as Anthony staking his claim to the number 15 jersey in Denver, and the legacy that’s attached to it.

Hot takes and Hot Ones

It hasn’t all been sour grapes for Melo when recalling his career in Denver, however. Anthony also made a recent media appearance on the popular YouTube talk show “Hot Ones,” where guests (usually a celebrity or athlete) answer questions while eating incredibly spicy wings with host Sean Evans.

In one segment of the show, Anthony revealed he shared the same building with Nuggets super mascot “Rocky” during his time in Denver.

“Rocky was my man,” Anthony said. “I never knew that was him. One day, after practice, I catch him with the helmet off. I said, ‘you live in my building’… Shout out to Rocky.”

You can view the episode here:

No. 15 debate

Anthony’s retirement, which was announced nearly a month before the Nuggets won their first NBA championship, led by Jokic, has sparked debate on whether it will be Anthony’s name or Jokic’s name hanging in the rafter when the number 15 is retired by the Nuggets.

As Nuggets coach Michael Malone told The Denver Gazette’s Paul Klee, perhaps there’s room for both.

“Once a Nugget, always a Nugget,” Malone said. “He’s always welcome to come back, and we’d love to have him around at any point in time.”

Of note, the only franchise record Anthony still currently holds is usage percentage (31.2). In addition to bringing home a championship, Jokic is above and beyond the regular season triple-doubles leader with 116 (and counting) to Anthony’s one, according to statistics compiled by Basketball Reference.