Can an NBA team retire the same number for two different players? It would depend on who those players were. In Denver, there’s a chance this might cause a slight dilemma down the line. Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony wore the No. 15 and was instrumental in putting the Nuggets on the map. But No. 15 is currently being worn by Nikola Jokic, who not only won multiple league MVPs, but did what Melo couldn’t by bringing a championship to the Nugs in 2023.
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Discussing this topic was Laker legend Robert Horry on the latest edition of his Big Shot Bob podcast. The seven-time champion’s co-host read a fan question, who wondered what the Nuggets would do about No. 15 when the time came. Horry was not afraid to be a little brash with his answer.
“You can do what the hell you want to do,” stated the 54-year-old baller. It’s about as simple as that. The Nuggets franchise could certainly retire the jersey twice, considering the impact both Melo and The Joker have had in the Mile High City. Look at Los Angeles. The Lakers retired both No. 8 and No. 24 for Kobe Bryant, so why wouldn’t this be the same elsewhere?
However, Horry and the boys didn’t let the conversation go without some debate. When posed with the question of Jokic over Carmelo, the ex-Rockets, Lakers, and Spurs legend explained why that would be his personal call as well. “Carmelo didn’t win anything when he was there. He didn’t even win Rookie of the Year when he was there. When you look at the teams, he kept getting beat, he never made it to the Western Conference Finals,” he stated.
“Even though he had great years there, it was not years where he won Western Conference Championship, won their conference. Went to the finals. I think that’s what teams look at,” added Big Shot Bob. It’s a solid point. Jokic has arguably done so much more for Denver than Carmelo did, despite Anthony’s resurgence of jersey sales and cultural relevance for the organization.
Horry also wondered if Denver was just trying to make Jokic happy if he potentially wanted the number for himself. “Like, ‘Hey, we got this young kid that we gonna try and keep and mold around him. He wants 15? F****** give it to him.”
At the end of the day, a player getting their number retired by a team is a special moment. Derrick Rose is having his No. 1 retired in Chicago despite never bringing another title to the Windy City.
Of course, Melo’s relationship with the city of Denver and the team has been a little strained, especially with former Nuggets coach George Karl taking repeated jabs at the HoF forward online, over several years. But should the Nuggets decide to retire both 15s, there might not be a lot of people mad about it, Karl excluded.
