It’s no secret that NBA legend Carmelo Anthony and George Karl, his former Denver Nuggets coach, don’t like each other.
The long-standing disdain for each other stems from Karl often calling Melo “lazy and hard to coach. “
George Karl Says Carmelo Anthony Was Overrated
Karl has often said that Melo cheated himself and the game because he couldn’t get him to buy in on the defensive end, or to consistently play within the team’s offensive system.
The height of their time together came in the 2008-2009 season when the Nuggets were beaten in six games in the Western Conference Finals by the Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol-led Los Angeles Lakers.
Melo, who was about as dynamic a scorer as there was in his NBA career, was traded away from the Mile High City to the New York Knicks in 2011, and while Karl says he demanded a trade, Melo says that just isn’t true.
However, it was no secret that Melo wanted out of Denver because of his tumultuous relationship with Karl.
Melo Says Beef With Karl Began Right Away
Upon taking the Nuggets job in January 2005, Karl, who replaced then interim head coach Michael Cooper seemed to have a personal vendetta against Melo from the jump. Others say he was trying to motivate the rookie who seemed obsessed with his offensive game.
During a recent episode of the “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast, Melo detailed how his first one-on-one interaction with Karl went.
“He got the job a couple days before we played the Milwaukee Bucks so the whole thing was I’m not coaching no game,” Anthony began. “My first game I want to be against the Milwaukee Bucks. … I really don’t know the game when he came to the team. I’m 21 now. All I know is I got a big name coach coming. George Karl, coached Milwaukee, coached Seattle … you know, all of that. We get to Milwaukee after shootaround, he called me to his room and he tell me, ‘Hey, man, I think you are overrated.’”
In response to Melo’s accusations, Karl took to X formerly known as Twitter to tell him that he indeed was overrated …
“U were overrated.”
Karl even compared Melo’s efficiency, or lack thereof, to that of former Seattle Sonics player Detlef Schrempf who was a solid player for Karl, with about a tenth of the talent that Melo possessed.
Karl Says Melo Should Still Be Honored By Nuggets: Joker Wears No.15
For years the debate that has raged on for some strange reason.
Karl has gone on record saying he believes they should, but there’s a huge problem that’s developed in Denver.
Melo’s No. 15 jersey is now being worn by all-world center Nikola Jokic, who’s done nothing but lead the franchise to its first NBA title last season, while also winning Finals MVP and back-to-back MVPs in 2021 and 2022.
That makes it kind of hard to retire Melo’s jersey when he isn’t the greatest player to wear the number anymore. The Nuggets organization told Melo everything they needed to when they allowed Joker to wear the number of a franchise legend in the first place.
Jersey retirement or not, Melo should be honored in some way by the Nuggets. He is one of the Top 75 players of all time and every last one of those players gets and deserves the utmost respect as transcending stars of the sport.
