Carmelo Anthony believes the Denver Nuggets have what it takes to come out of the Western Conference and beat the likes of the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
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Carmelo Anthony may have had a notable tenure with the New York Knicks, but its with the Denver Nuggets where his Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame career began.
The 41-year-old led the Nuggets to seven straight playoff appearances to begin his career. That was one notable feat considering the Nuggets had the worst record in the NBA (17-65) during the previous season and hadn’t been to the playoffs since the 1994-95 season.
Fast forward to present day and the Nuggets are one of the elite franchises of the NBA as an annual Western Conference contender. A lot of that is due to the presence of Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP who routinely puts up triple doubles as a center.
Entering the final days of February, the Nuggets are fourth in a stacked Western Conference. They’re behind the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and new upstarts in the Kevin Durant-led Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs.
“The Nuggets are dangerous, and the Nuggets are a scary team right now,” said Anthony in a one-on-one interview. “They’re starting to find a rhythm. They’re getting healthy. Joker is starting to get in shape from the injury. This is the time that they want to start to start jelling and start clicking. This is the always the best time for the Nuggets over these past couple years, because they start to find their flow and their rhythm during this part of the season.”
Jokic had recently missed 16 games due to a hyperextended left knee injury. However, the Nuggets were able to maintain pace in a competitive Western Conference, going 10-6 during his absence.
Anthony compares the current Nuggets to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference – a team that may not be considered the best in their own conference, but a dangerous team that can make a championship push. The Cavaliers are also hovering around the fourth seed in the East and have gone 6-1 since acquiring James Harden.
“It’ll be interesting to see what they do out there in the West,” said Anthony. “They remind me of Cleveland in the East. They’re lingering around, but they’re a team who can actually come out of the West too. They have that potential.”
The Nuggets have won a championship in the Jokic era, doing so during the 2022-23 season. However, they’ve had rough exits over the past couple of seasons, losing in Game 7 in each of the past two years. They lost one of those series to the Thunder last season.
Denver has had limited matchups against the Thunder and Spurs this season, going 0-2 in those games. However, they’ve gone 2-1 against the Rockets.
If the Nuggets are going to make another championship run, they’ll have to prove capable of beating the Thunder – led by fellow MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – and the Spurs.
“They can compete with the Thunder and the Spurs,” said Anthony on if Denver can beat those teams in the playoffs. “I think the West is those top heavy teams in the West. They all can compete with each other, same as as the East.”
While Anthony keeps busy these days as an NBA analyst for NBC Sports, he’s also keeping busy in another way. Anthony is partnering with On Location, which is the official hospitality partner for the 2026 World Cup.
“We just want to create this or deliver one of the biggest and largest hospitality programs ever,” said Anthony. “For me to be a part of that, and creating and curating these packages and different fan experiences, venue experiences, I really enjoy being a part of that. Thinking about me to be able to represent just this region here in New York and New Jersey.”
When asked what experience he would suggest to those visiting New York, Anthony said taking in the Statue of Liberty experience as being at the top of his list.
“When you talk about one of the experiences I’m excited about, is just people being able to just take a trip around the Statue of Liberty,” said Anthony. “Getting on the water here in New York, and being able to see New York from that view and that version of New York on the water. A lot of people don’t get that opportunity to experience that. Even locals don’t get an opportunity to experience that. For On Location to be able to offer that, that’s one of the big moments of this hospitality package.”
Team USA has high expectations entering this year’s World Cup, with a formidable bunch led by star Christian Pulisic and coach Mauricio Pochettino. The men’s soccer team is on a five-match unbeaten streak, which includes three straight wins. They most recently defeated Uruguay, 5-1, which is a top-15 FIFA ranked opponent.
“I’m looking forward to Team USA in the World Cup,” said Anthony. “A lot of pressure being home and then being this is the homeland. But I think they’re going to be prepared. I think they’re going to be ready, and then they have a lot of support. They’re going to have a lot of support when it comes to trying to push them over to get these wins, and hopefully try to win the World Cup.”
Anthony said this is the most “excited” he’s been and soccer fans have been during his lifetime to see Team USA in the World Cup.
“In my lifetime, I can’t think about a time where we were this energized and this enthused for the FIFA World Cup,” said Anthony. “That’s major, right? And to say that this is here in our backyard, and for me to be a part of that — but to also be a fan of the sport with USA and just the rest of the world – it’s an exciting time.”
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