Carmelo's Nuggets | Forgotten NBA Teams

Right now the Denver Nuggets are the reigning NBA led by the best player in the league but a little over two decades ago they were one of the worst teams and were suffering through a 8 year playoff drought. Everything changed when the Nuggets selected Carmelo Anthony in the 2003 NBA draft. Carmelo proceeded to lead the Nuggets to the playoffs every year he was in Denver including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2009. Today we look back at Carmelo Anthony's time in Denver.
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[@guillermoportillo7949]

I really wonder how bad the Nuggets would’ve been if the Pistons selected Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets selected Darko Milicic. Maybe because of how bad Milicic was, they may been turned off by foreign big men and may have passed on Jokic. Interesting thought.

[@nvm9040]

Don’t blame the pistons for making the pick but it’s how the pistons handled darko bc they didn’t play him like a decent amount of minutes and Larry brown played him out of position bc Darko wanted to be a stretch big but nope

[@johndebono1870]

I wouldn't 100% say they are on par with Carmelo's Nuggets, but it is fair to point out that it was more of a coin toss at the time if you pick him or Darko second. It isn't crazy that if Darko could be the vocal point of a team, he probably turns into something (Though given the Nuggets just got burnt by Tskitishvili, I assume Darko goes to the Raptors or Heat if Detroit went with Carmelo).

[@guillermoportillo7949]

@@nvm9040 Darko did have good potential and at his peak was a solid role playing center. He may have been one of those guys that would have blossomed on a worse team, because the Pistons were a great team! Maybe if he were put in the position of getting starters minutes, he could’ve been like a Chris Kaman level of player, but that’s if he had the passion, which isn’t likely. He certainly wouldn’t have lived up to the superstars taken after him, but he would’ve been solid.

[@THE_BEAR_JEW]

I think the Nuggets would've been fine tbh. Even in Melo's first year they already had a solid core with Camby, Andre Miller, and Nene. Then they got Kenyon Martin when he was still good. Then JR Smith, then Billups. Their one mistake was getting Iverson. Imo (and I know it may be unpopular) is that Carmelo wasn't gonna win anywhere. He was a ballhog and a traffic cone on defense. His teammates had a tough time getting involved and they had to make up for his lack of effort on the other end. I think Darko would've worked better with those Nuggets because they needed a stretch guy. They already had Nene and Camby on the inside.

[@jgmepgjlrmxcf2188]

Darko's passion might as well growrh with game time, instead of diminishing every time he get to play 2min of garbage time everygame​@@guillermoportillo7949

[@dontaerogers2687]

Melo did a good job in Denver despite everything. But he is definitely not getting his jersey retired in Denver 😭

[@therealshino4607]

But hey he got us a ring through addition through subtraction. I believe the pcims became Joker and Murray or Murray and Porter 2 crucial pieces. And if it was the Joker pick the most valuable piece

[@otimfauchon4898]

He will have to be honored tho, he’s a top 5 player in franchise history

[@adriansmith5279]

Especially with Nikola Jokic(wearing 15) right now on track of being one of the greatest to ever play and, if not already, the greatest Denver Nugget ever! But Melo deserves his flowers from the Nuggets. He gave them a good era of basketball in the Attitude before the joker came to town.

[@_4ui12]

i feel as though he’d get it co retired with jokic

[@drey6111]

Disrespectful not to

[@MusicLover-my6fo]

I find it ironic that Carmelo Anthony was drafted in 2003, then he retires 20 years later, and the Nuggets win the championship with Nikola Jokic wearing his original jersey.

[@tiffanywallace3528]

Or the fact they didn’t draft the Darko the PF from Serbia and win the title with that other PF from Serbia 😂

[@sanblue303]

Melo doesn’t deserve his number retired. Jokic has done far more than anything Melo ever did with his time in Denver. On top of that Jokic won a championship, Denver’s first championship. Melo never shows Denver any love, dude would rather be seated courtside to watch the knicks lose than watch the Nuggets.

[@cooperhayes1194]

This.

[@cultok]

Literally he did enough to have it retired (not over Jokic) but he legit shows 0 love to Denver

[@jxhnxxi6333]

Carmelo "The Possession Ends Here" Anthony

[@sakamoto8354]

Carmelo would heavily benefit from Jokic if he played alongside with him.

[@GrimM_ZX]

Carmelo walked so MPJ could run

[@GrimM_ZX]

Carmelo walked so MPJ could run

[@MrBubblecake]

Always hated those kind of players. They’ve been the downfall of so many teams, Kobe was known for ruining games like that. Players who’d rather shoot 6/25 and lose than give their wide open teammates a chance.

[@premiumuses]

​@@sakamoto8354be wouldn't agree to be a catch and shoot mpj type player he wants to be the Ball handler even tho he can't playmake

[@migueliscool69]

Another banger ass SS video 🙏 As a nuggets fan who grew up during this era, I highly appreciate this retrospective

[@buggg5750]

Yall's channel is my go to for lunch breaks fo real

[@TMFriedVO]

This is the best NBA channel at the moment. Can't believe you guys don't have more subs. Love your content. Keep up the good work, boys!

[@adriansmith5279]

I agree, Is the one channel in the NBA Social Media/Internet community whose videos I watch more than anyone else! And having two guys rather than one person doing videos makes it Interesting, you don't see that very often on the internet.

[@user-lv5jf2ux2b]

you’re not wrong for one of the best Channel

[@DrTomat0]

this is the first video i saw from this channel and no exaggerating its my favourite channel on youtube now the comedic skits and chemistry these guys have is unmatched!

[@justinsullivan7284]

I gotta watch every video right when it’s posted

[@jusla90]

Hows the vid bro

[@PodyTheCirate]

The ‘Thuggets’ era got me into basketball and the nuggets as a whole! All this info was great!

[@Joeyisbadatgaming]

I love your content and I hope you guys continue this because these videos are really interesting, and funny.

[@bigdawg23245]

Future forgotten nba team: Luka’s Mavericks

[@stevenmark4407]

Nah chill 😂 they still have time

[@THE_BEAR_JEW]

Most teams that don't win a championship are forgotten. Nobody talks about the 2003-04 Wolves for example. Same with the 2013-14 Pacers. Those were awesome, fun teams, but you might as well be talking about the 10th President.

[@VojkanTrifunovic]

@@THE_BEAR_JEW I mean 2004 is when KG won the Mvp so they do talk about that...

[@skyfly911]

Another funny & entertaining video, congrats on 50k subs as well!

[@ethanspraggins6542]

so happy the algorithm decided i know about yalls channel

[@Buggy99]

20+ minute video? Y’all we are EATING today!

[@HoopStation303]

as a nuggets fan, i appreciate the humor in this video. Good news they didnt lose in 5, they got swept instead lol

[@WaybetterthanBron23]

Hey guys Bulls fan here Can you do Like a rise fall rise and fall again on the bulls from like 2009-10 to now. Just wondering.

[@jusla90]

You should watch dylandoesbasketball''s video about that it goes prettt in depth

[@Not_Brandino]

I dunno if you guys did a video on them or not, but I think the early 2000s Nets would be a great video topic for this series. Back to back title appearances in 02 and 03 and then fell off hard IIRC

[@fortynights1513]

New Jersey had one more 47 win team in 2004 that made the second round and lost to the eventual champion, and then their core moved on except Kidd and Jefferson I think. Pretty good team looking back at it. Defensively in particular.

[@yodasamara1940]

I would love to see you both talk about de pg russ okc

[@joshuamoultrie5404]

Watching from Thailand

[@xkinged]

Y’all got to make a 2000s Western conference video, cause it’s insane how many stacked teams were in the west

[@jasonbecke]

Carmelo could have won a championship in his career but was greedy with money. In 2006 he signed a 5 year instead of a 3 year like how the big 3 did because he wanted more money. Then in 2011 he was gonna go to the Knicks regardless but he made them trade for him because he wanted to be able to sign the 5 year max and he could only do that if he was already on the roster. Had he joined in the summer as a free agent he could have only gotten a 4 year deal. Too much greed

[@cooperhayes1194]

Fr. One of the most selfish and overrated players of all time

[@CallMePaco]

That panda edit got me dying😂

[@TorontoWire]

Carmelo was robbed of rookie of the year, it's actually insane but Melo talked about it in a interview that he wished him and Iverson had one more year together. He really felt that they could have kept building to get better and the leap he took in 2008-2009 supported that. Obviously we don't know we got the version in which Chauncey got traded over but you have to think if you had someone other than George Karl at the helm, maybe comradery would have been better.

[@Youralwayswhining4367]

Bad take

[@tingol10]

Like when Melo left for NY and it was all love and roses there? The man was jealous of kid Lin who was helping them win, overrated player. Was a great talent no doubt but was only interested in himself and not playing winning basketball.

[@springheeljak145]

Agreed, the Cavs didn't even go to the playoffs while the Nuggets made it in a competitive Western Conference.

[@mrblackman1992_]

@IGcantstopfactsbreh fool melo was rookie of the month every month except one month, took a trash team to the playoffs and avg 21ppg 5rb 2ast yeah he was robbed

[@mrblackman1992_]

@IGcantstopfactsbreh lebron career is far better than melo but melo was robbed of the roty it’s just facts bruh get off that man 🍖

[@damion1011]

You should do a “forgotten nba teams” for the D-Will jazz (boozer,AK-47 , okur.) , CP3, Tyson chandler and David West hornets. Horford , Josh Smith and Iso Joe hawks.

[@71jasonstewart]

I’m loving these retrospectives. and I don’t even care for basketball

[@Joshua-im4bz]

They said the next video is out Monday so I Waite and now we are here

[@parkerchaddock2770]

The sheer disbelief at 20:30 made that story for me. Cause yeah what the fuck?!

[@langstonbibbs]

Can we get a video on those grit and grind grizzlies teams ?

[@thomasmontgomery805]

Love you guys

[@arielljasonmalanog4201]

CARMELO'S NUGGETS 😅

[@realhunter1617]

Real mature 👌

[@spaztnik-pz9qx]

That's why he was supposed to be Rookie of the Year Lead the team in scoring as a rookie Lead that same team to the playoffs with virtually the same team

[@toxsyxx]

Can we get a video on the worst draft in nba history from you guys?

[@buddha2977]

Can’t believe people want the nuggets to retire melo number😂

[@stevenmark4407]

They won’t, well maybe after Jokic retires. They say fuck it and add him up there later. 😂

[@THE_BEAR_JEW]

I think things will change now that the Nuggets have a chip. Teams with bad histories tend to retire jerseys of undeserving players just to have SOMETHING there.

[@buddha2977]

@@THE_BEAR_JEW So you’re gonna have two retired jerseys with the same number? Personally I think it would be disrespectful to jokic since he actually brought them a title but I’m sure he wouldn’t care

[@THE_BEAR_JEW]

@@buddha2977 Sorry, I didn't explain myself too well. I mean now with the Nuggets being a champion, they likely wont retire Carmelo's jersey.

[@drasconboy6349]

@@buddha2977 The Spurs let Aldridge wear #12 after it was retired for Bowen and both the Knicks (#15) and Trail Blazers (#30) have their numbers retired for 2 different players It's not new

[@manzac112]

I'm still mad that NBA 2K had the 07-08 Nuggets and not the 08-09 Nuggets, who were the better team. And for some reason Carmelo Anthony didn't win Rookie of the Year over LeBron James in 2003.

[@edppoopsock168]

Name value. People rather use AI and melo VS Chauncey and melo.

[@THE_BEAR_JEW]

@@edppoopsock168 I know I do. I love Billups but in 2k, it's better to have fun lineups instead of the objectively better lineups.

[@rayferdays7870]

Chauncey Nuggets were the better roster. always hit like 75% on 3's with that lineup.

[@edppoopsock168]

@@THE_BEAR_JEW exactly. Having two iso players is better than a “floor general” in 2K

[@manzac112]

@@edppoopsock168 Says more about how bad NBA 2K is....

[@585lynch]

As a knicks fan that opening statement hurt😂😂 cus them picks was ours

[@nbarealtalker]

I’d say he is to Denver what Lillard is to Portland.

[@staidenofanarchy]

Dude Birdman was so much fun to watch, one of my favorite all time bench players

[@TG-ld8hl]

The Nuggets front office thinking that making George Karl coach Melo AND Iverson was a good idea is hilarious 😂

[@torinklutterman3743]

We need WE BELIEVE

[@reddemon13xz]

I love how people call out the Celtics for milking a title in 08 and here they’re all nostalgic about melo going to the wcf once despite being a chucker who refused to get back on defense

[@RealTomahawk7]

22:40 I'd like to be the official authority on this matter, given how I not only lived through this trade saga but also got to see Melos Knicks debut at MSG. We all agree that the Knicks gave up a ton for Melo, but it wasn't without cause. The Nets were extremely close on a deal for Melo twice, the most well-known deal was one that looked eerily similar to the IRL trade with the only difference being that it would've also included Rip Hamilton joining Melo and Billups on the Nets. The only reason the Nets didn't make the deal was because they didn't want to take on Al Harrington. Remember when the entire media was clowning on the Knicks when they struck out on KD and Kyrie as they moved to the Nets? Picture that but about 8 years earlier and at least 3 times worse. Especially since the Nets were soon to move to Brooklyn with an ownership group including Jay-Z and were looking to make their mark in NYC. What better way than to bring in a team headlined by a Brooklyn native. As for the picks the Knicks gave away, the only real miss here was Jamal Murray, for obvious reasons.

[@cjvaye99]

this series about forgotten NBA teams is my favorite on this channel. it's just fun to look back and remember bc this was the era I grew up with, I got all the games every year so I know all the players...yes even players like Julius Hodge lol

[@slimypickle19]

Anyone ever stop to think that George Karl was actually right about Carmelo & Cousins?

[@Youralwayswhining4367]

He was right, but Karl was a prick also

[@BigWillieDillie]

Ngl,if he took better shots he wouldn't need all those game winners💀

[@alexye5331]

Next forgotten team video: the Steve Nash Suns

[@ForgetTheBusHatch6000ForGalv]

As a life long Nuggets fan, they should retire Carmelo's number. If they can ok it with Jokic. Carmelo Anthony has earned it, and the Nuggets organization shouldn't forget what he did for this community. If you have time to read this story, it'll explain why I feel this way. This story exemplified how Carmelo was a class act superstar. My oldest brother was the biggest Carmelo fan in Colorado when he was 7. He went to a mall with my dad because Melo was there signing autographs. They waited in line for 3 hours before some organizer said "No more folks, Carmelo won't be signing anymore autographs today! You need to go home!" My dad and everyone else in line was pissed. "How could you do this? Just tell us he only has so much time before making us wait!!" But Carmelo saw how upset the people were and said: "I'll meet and sign for everyone who's waited, I've got the time for them. Just cut off the line now and I'll see everyone who's waited in it" He stayed at least 2 more hours to sign autographs and meet his fans, going past the mall's closing hours. My brother was ecstatic and still has his child sized jersey signed by the X Carmelo Anthony. He did care, and we should not forget about him just because someone else now wears the same number.

[@woodardfrom3]

Division titles mattering back then was crazy 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@t-hoywiggins7584]

The last thing I was expecting in this video was a One Piece reference

[@Zmaguila98]

carmelooooo ANTHONYYYYYYY 👉😠

[@BenjaminTUrra]

1:25 We know Melo`s talent, but i don`t how a high volume scorer with no defense would had fit on that team

[@user-lv5jf2ux2b]

As a pistons fan i’m mad that we selected Darko over Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade

[@woodardfrom3]

Miss the 2000s nba , nun but hoopers .

[@cameronmontrose2616]

23 mins starting off monday right😂

[@PricefieldPunk]

Melo is so unlucky that a random 2nd round pick who nobody thought would be that great got his number and became one of the best players to ever play the game.

[@twilso9]

Had to cancel my date because Synthetic Sports posted … she’ll understand

[@MusicLover-my6fo]

I'm pretty sure Carmelo Anthony already said that he wants the Knicks to retire his jersey since he's from New York.

[@youdontneedyouriphonebox]

Martin had Rage knees

[@octaveg8056]

i feel like the current clippers team could end up being a forgotten team in time if they don't win this year

[@Stormy00]

I stg his intro is cod black ops CW song

[@diamondrattler7453]

Im actually glad Carmelo has a hand on our championship. Hes one of my favorite players of all time.

[@dawnhines6912]

Do 2019 thunder

[@ryanmahrenholz3944]

As somebody who fell in love with basketball watching the melo-AI nuggs, I hope melo does get his jersey retired eventually if for nothing else than to respect his part in the franchises journey, but at minimum I hope the overall fanbase can at least start to respect what he did for us… it’s sad to see him get crapped on constantly for yes, arguably selfish decision making but we wouldn’t have so many iconic franchises moments if not for him. Suck it up!!

[@THE_BEAR_JEW]

I don't care for Melo but if the Nuggets want to, they can repeat retire the number. The Yankees did it with #8 Yogi Berra and #8 Bill Dickey. I think it would even work better with Melo and Joker considering their names will be on the jersey and the jersey looked drastically different in their respective eras.

[@sultanofthewest8263]

Melo

[@Jecko157]

2008 Nuggets goated 2K team

[@Dee-GBE]

F George Karl! Love the channel guys!

[@macewbee]

Good point but please watch basketball examined on Melo they broke it down. Also with Big Ben he explained why it would not work also people keeps forgetting Larry Brown hates playing rookie.

[@eliavim3169]

Melo also won rookie of the month every month that year and Lebron won rookie of the year.

[@fortynights1513]

That’s interesting. Sort of illustrates how LeBron and Melo were compared.

[@Tim_Dunkin]

Iverson basically said "If two of the most inefficient ball dominant players don't have the ball pass it to one of them so they can take a contested fade away"

[@hhtptai]

Your next video should be about why these Big 3's aren't working out 😂

[@nvm9040]

Honestly those melo teams were good and he absolutely did his part to get buckets and wins But Jokic will be known as number fifteen

[@demanager0412]

A buddy from high school recorded a Nuggets vs Wolves game from 2003 for me, really appreciated the effort but Anthony went 0-16 from the field in that game xD. Probably his worst game ever

[@TheKDogBrand]

I would have gave Melo and LeBron Co-Rookies Of The Year for the 03-04 season.

[@BSmokeyGaming]

What's sad about this Nuggets team under Carmelo Anthony, now that the Nuggets are the champions, the fans want to completely forget and erase Carmelo Anthony's history with the Nuggets now that Nikola Jokic has surpassed Melo as the best player in franchise history (Jokic even wears the same number, I probably thinking that the FO of the Nuggets told him to wear Number 15 LOL). I know he didnt get along with the FO which led to him getting traded to the Knicks, but give credit to Melo, he at least brought relevancy to the Denver Nuggets franchise at that time.

[@VojkanTrifunovic]

Yeah he didnt get along with front office cos he wanted to leave...

[@TheSiemek]

Hey guys! Bzdelik sounds like a Polish name or at least Slavic one. And you got it right :)

[@futureDreamer4]

Latrell should have been on the Nuggets. He would have put George Karl in check😂😂😂

[@joupacabra]

George Karl's ego set the Bucks back 20 years after reaching the ECF.

[@SuperSikarlo]

Always hated melo. He was never a team player and he always focused on himself. Not to mention he had no playmaking and defense. He didn't retire because he left on a good note, he retired because nobody wanted him.

[@KAye633]

Melo should get his jersey retired he did a lot for that franchise and he may not have gotten the title but he did have a hand in the championship that we see today, indirectly. Retire his jersey!

[@enanebres6481]

79K 3mo 60.9K subs

[@grando2750]

As a Melo fan, would I like to see his number retired..sure. But being objective, I dont see a world where Denver feels the need to, considering who wears 15 now and the level of success they’ve achieved with him. Some type of honoring (if they have a ring of honor or somethin) would be cool.

[@rigor252]

Would the 2023 nuggets even have a chance against those spurs and lakers team that beat melos nuggets?

[@neilbryanbucsit197]

Melo's ego and Larry Brown's disciplinary actions would've clashed so I don't think they would win more championships

[@petersonofleo11]

Larry Brown is also known for not being good with young players so all this talk of Melo with the Pistons is a dynasty is nonsense because what made the Pistons so good was their incredible chemistry together.

[@juliam620]

Ypu read Bzdelik perfectly

[@Harapan162]

hi

[@stephanewillier9956]

No number 15 is going to be retired for joker

[@akeme25]

As a Nuggets fan, I can never be mad at Melo for how he left, because he at was open about wanting to leave, giving the Nuggets a chance to trade him for some talent before he left in free agency for nothing. Plus he still showed up and performed well in every game during the whole “Melo-drama” as it was called back then.

[@nicmagtaan1132]

That Melo trade gave them Murray plus mediocrity and competitiveness too until jokic arrived

[@plaipa]

this aint the Scoot video

[@BrandanTheBroker]

WHAT IF: Melo went to Miami and Wade went to Detroit?

[@Youralwayswhining4367]

Same career outlook, was always going to get his numbers

[@Youralwayswhining4367]

Mello came into the league with a good supporting cast, his decision making was the reason he would never get a ring. He just cared about his stats, i f he only had a different mind set.

[@nbr8425]

What the nuggets should do is retire 15 but for both Melo and Jokic

[@JordanGurney]

Who's a bigger #2 bust of all time? Darko Milicic? Or James Wiseman? If Darko wasn't a bust, the Pistons could've extended their 04 run. If Wiseman wasn't a bust, the Warriors could still be a dynasty today.

[@sloth610]

I bummed Melo in ever 2k as my main scorer! Then I left him

[@ceufrscio707]

Hot take: melo wasn't hungry. He didnt want it. He got the bag and didnt care after

[@Youralwayswhining4367]

Alot of athletes are like that until it's to late.

[@haroldsoriano9197]

just post a banner in Melo. at least give a man some credit.

[@spliffsforbreakfast]

As a Nuggets _and_ Melo fan, I’ve been crying the past few years for Melo to retire with the Nuggets and contribute off the bench scoring to a ring. I figured, it was only a matter of time the Nuggets won while Melo was running out. Of course that was too big of wish to see a poetic finish 😢

[@dakodasmith2127]

We are not interested in retiring that jersey. That's Jokers number. I was there, Gandalf. 3000 Years ago. This man broke our hearts. And for what? His wife wanted to live in NY? Same wife he would later cheat on? He did what Melo does. He was selfish. Prefer stars that want to play in Denver. Not look at it as the unfortunate team that drafted him. As if we didn't do enough. We got AI. We got KMart. We made moves to make that push, but the West was a MF. And after all that, he hasn't tried to mend that broken bridge even once. Why should we care about him? Thanks for being the means to an end, I guess.

[@springheeljak145]

This was the team that really got me into basketball. The nuggets had been terrible the decade prior, and I wasn't alive when they were decent in the 80s. I still stand by Melo getting the ROTY over Lebron because Melo actually took the Nuggets to the playoffs. That kind of turnaround should have been rewarded