It’s been a weird 14 years between the Denver Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony. However, Anthony’s enshrinement into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend will give the two sides an opportunity to find a long-lost connection with each other.

Anthony, the man who revived Nuggets basketball in 2003, burned bridges with many fans and the organization when he requested a trade from Denver and left town in 2011. He was booed by Nuggets Nation every time he returned to Denver, and didn’t even receive a tribute video when he first made his way back to town as a member of the New York Knicks.

WILL ANTHONY’S NO. 15 BE IN THE RAFTERS?

Things got even weirder when some random second round draft pick showed up in 2015 and started wearing Anthony’s patented No. 15. To add more fuel to the fire, that guy surpassed all of Anthony’s achievements in Denver, which has raised questions on how to go about retiring the number once its out of commission again.

By the way, that guy who ended up with No. 15 on his back is Nikola Jokic, in case anyone didn’t know.

Anthony has been adamant about how he thinks the decision to allow Jokic to wear his number was a ‘petty’ move from the Nuggets.

“What I believe is they gave [Jokic] 15 to try to erase what I did,” Anthony said on his “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast back in early 2024.

Many Nuggets legends such as Chauncey Billups have advocated for Anthony’s jersey to be up in the rafters along with Jokic down the road, but some people haven’t been able to look past his bad ending with the franchise and the city.

The last jersey that the franchise retired was Dikembe Mutombo’s No. 55 back in the 2015-16 season. Until Jokic or Jamal Murray call it a career, there likely won’t be any more numbers heading up high anytime soon.

NUGGETS LOOKING TO BREAK THE ICE

While things have been sour between Melo and the Nuggets over the years, his induction into the Hall of Fame has slightly opened the door for the two sides to rekindle their ties. Anthony is already having his former Nuggets teammate Allen Iverson be one of his two presenters at Saturday’s ceremony, and the franchise will make sure to not turn a cold shoulder to his great playing days in the Mile High City.

According to a report from Andscape‘s Mark J. Spears, the Nuggets have ordered an advertisement in the ceremony’s program and are planning to post a range of content on social media to honor the former No. 3 overall draft pick.

While the controversy surrounding the history between Melo and the Nuggets, no one can argue with the fact that he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Anthony has the fourth-most points in Nuggets franchise history (13,970), the 12th-most points in NBA/ABA history (28,289), made six All-NBA teams and was a 10-time All-Star. He made the All-Rookie team in 2003, was the NBA scoring champion in 2013 and was nominated to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team back in 2022.

He also has plenty of memorable moments in the powder blue and white. Everyone’s last memory of him is how he left town, but the eight years leading up to it were filled with buckets and highlights.

On this day in 2008… 75th Anniversary Team member Carmelo Anthony went for 33 3rd quarter points against Minnesota! #NBA75

Learn more about Melo at https://t.co/sKhpahx5MR pic.twitter.com/Ln9dJVHbwI

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) December 10, 2021

The Class of 2025 Enshrinement Ceremony will take place on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. MDT, and will be broadcast on NBA TV.