Nikola Jokic Gets Honest About Wearing Carmelo Anthony's No. 15

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During a recent episode of his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony slammed the Denver Nuggets for giving Nikola Jokic his number.
"It was a petty maneuver," Anthony said. "It wasn't like, 'Oh, we got numbers to choose from.' It was like, 'Here, you got 15' … I didn't go to Denver for about two years after that, two seasons because of lockout and the scheduling and all that crazy sh-t, right? So now I'm seeing Denver 15. I'm like, ‘F--k is going on? 15?’...The disrespect in you offering that showed me that you just wanted to erase everything that came prior to that right there… But what I believe is that they gave him 15 to try to erase what I did… When you think of 15 in Denver now, to this generation, you [think the] Joker. And there's nothing towards that. It's just, it was two different generations. So that just goes to show me that y’all not past that moment. This is 2010. This is 13 years ago. So if you are, you are holding on to something that was 13 years ago."
Following Friday night's win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Jokic was asked how long he has worn No. 15, and got honest about how far back it goes for him.
"In my hometown I was wearing 15," Jokic said. "... I think I've been wearing 15 my whole life."
When asked if he knew Anthony was No. 15 in Denver, Jokic said, "Of course. He was a great player."
It was a simple, but honest answer from Jokic, who revealed that No. 15 goes way back for him.
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Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.