NBA legend Carmelo Anthony was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Carmelo Anthony headlined the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame event alongside former Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard.
Despite never winning an NBA Championship, it’s safe to say that Anthony had a phenomenal career, averaging 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. But the Nuggets have yet to announce Anthony’s jersey retirement.
Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty ImagesChauncey Billups reveals when the Denver Nuggets should have retired Carmelo Anthony’s jersey
While Anthony was the biggest star in Denver for nearly a decade, the two sides underwent an ugly breakup during the 2010-11 season.
After all, Melo demanded a trade, and the Nuggets fulfilled that request by sending him to the New York Knicks.
Even then, NBA legend and Portland Trail Blazers’ head coach Chauncey Billups believes that the Nuggets should have retired Anthony’s jersey right after his retirement in 2023.
“They should have retired Melo’s jersey the year after he retired. Once he retired, I said, ‘All right, cool. He’s done now. He won’t play another game. It is time,’” Billups told Andscape.
He added: “And so, to me, it is already too late. That should have been the first order of business in terms of retiring Melo’s jersey just because I know exactly what he meant to the organization.”
The key roadblock to retiring Anthony’s jersey is that Nikola Jokic currently dons the #15 for the Nuggets. That’s the same number that Melo wore during his time in Denver.
“Melo is one of the greatest players in the history of the franchise. Obviously, there’s so many guys that came before us that were great players. And obviously, there was Joker that came after all of us,” the Trail Blazers coach stated.
Carmelo Anthony broke the hearts of the Denver Nuggets fans
Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images
Due to his infamous trade request, Anthony’s relationship with the Nuggets soured. If that wasn’t the case then the Joker may have never even gotten the chance to wear Anthony’s old number.
Despite that, Billups stated: “But Melo is one of the best players in the history of the franchise — probably top three, top two in the history of the franchise there.
“I’m still in Denver and all the fans and the people I know, they still appreciate him. They love him.”
Billups then pointed out that Anthony’s departure broke the hearts of the Nuggets’ fanbase, but even then, the recently inducted Hall of Famer deserves a jersey retirement in Denver.
“Obviously, it broke their hearts for him to leave, especially at a time like that when we were close. So, it stung. But at the end of the day, they still love him.
“They appreciate that they got to see that Melo era,” Billups concluded.
Anthony averaged 24.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game for the Nuggets. He also earned multiple All-Star and All-NBA selections as a member of the franchise.