NBA legend Carmelo Anthony was recently led Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Carmelo Anthony headlined the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame event along with former Los Angeles Lakers Center Dwight Howard.
Though he never won an NBA championship, Anthony has an incredible career, and is safe to say he averaged 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game over 19 years.
Speaking of career, Melo rose to stardom during his eight-year stint with the Denver Nuggets. However, Nugget has not yet announced his retirement in Anthony’s jersey.
Anthony was Denver’s biggest star for nearly a decade, but both sides were split up during the 2010-11 season.
After all, Mello demanded trade and Nugget fulfilled that request by sending him to the New York Knicks.
Still, NBA Legend and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncy Billup believes the Nuggets should retire from Anthony’s jersey shortly after they retired in 2023.
“They should have retired from Melo’s jersey the year after he retired. When he retired, I said, ‘It’s okay, he’s finished now. He won’t play another game.
He added:
A key obstacle to retiring from Anthony’s jersey is that Nikola Jokic is currently wearing #15 for the nugget. That’s the same number that Melo wore in his time in Denver.
“Melo is one of the greatest players in franchise history. Clearly there are a lot of great players before us. And obviously, there was a Joker who came after us all.”
His infamous trade demands caused an aggravation in relations with the Nuggets. If not, the Joker might not have even had the chance to wear Anthony’s old numbers.
Nevertheless, Billups said:
“I’m still in Denver, all the fans I know and the people I know, they’re still grateful to him. They love him.”
Billup then pointed out that Anthony’s departure had broken the hearts of the Nuggets’ fanbase, but the recently-inaugurated Hall of Fame deserves a Jersey retirement in Denver.
“Obviously, his departure broke their heart, especially when we were approaching. So it was stabbed. But at the end of the day, they still love him.
“They are grateful that they were able to see that Melo era,” concluded Billup.
Anthony averaged 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for the Nuggets. He also won multiple All-Stars and All-NBA selections as a member of the franchise.