Carmelo Anthony and Nikola Jokic.Photo:Patrick Smith/Getty; Alex Goodle/Getty

Carmelo Anthony Says Denver Nuggets Giving His Number to Nikola Jokic Was a ‘Petty Maneuver’

Patrick Smith/Getty; Alex Goodle/Getty

Carmelo Anthonywasn’t too pleased to find out his former team the Denver Nuggets had given another incoming player his old No. 15 jersey number.Even if that player turned out to be back-to-back NBA MVPNikola Jokic.

“It was a petty maneuver,” Anthony, 39,toldThe Kid Mero’s7 p.m. in Brooklynpodcast this week. “It wasn’t like we got numbers to choose from, it was like here, you got No. 15.”

Anthony said he does think it’s possible Jokic, 28, could’ve picked the No. 15 to “pay homage” to him as one of the greatest Nuggets of all time.

“But what I believe is they gave him No. 15 to try to erase what I did,” he said.

Carmelo Anthony.Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty

Carmelo Anthony #15 of the Denver Nuggets looks across the court during the game against the Washington Wizards on February 6, 2009 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty

Nikola Jokic.Ethan Mito/Clarkson Creative/Getty

Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets dribbles against the Memphis Grizzlies at Ball Arena on April 7, 2022 in Denver, Colorado.

Ethan Mito/Clarkson Creative/Getty

Anthony never won an NBA title, but won a record four gold medals with the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team. He ended his career as the NBA’s No. 19 all-time leading scorer with 28,289 points.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The Nuggets drafted Jokic in 2014, roughly a decade before the Serbian-born powerhouse forward led the team to its first-ever NBA Championship last season.

Jokic – one of the league’s most popular players – was named the NBA Finals MVP, one season after winning back-to-back league MVP awards in 2021 and 2022.

source: people.com