Former Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony recently talked about his strained relationship with the former Nuggets head coach George Karl. He highlighted the problems they faced on the team despite being six years together.
Anthony, who is remembered as one of the greatest players in the Nuggets franchise, also blamed his former team for trying to erase his history by using Nikola Jokic. He did a lot for the team and his journey did not end on good terms with them.
What is the reason behind George Karl and Carmelo Anthony’s beef?
Carmelo Anthony recently talked about his beef with his former head coach George Karl. He expressed his thoughts on his podcast where he revealed that initially, Karl found Anthony to be overrated in their first meeting.
He always compared the Nuggets star to Detlef Schrempf and called him inexperienced. He favored Detlef more and hailed him a better international player in terms of efficiency.
Melo, however, was the superstar of the Nuggets at the time and was their biggest offensive weapon. He carried the franchise to the NBA playoffs eight times in the eight seasons he played for them.
The repeated comparison by Karl to Detlef was becoming disrespectful to the Denver star and this strained his relationship with his coach. Despite being together for six years, they did not talk more than necessary and the only conversation between them was during coaching sessions provided by Karl. The relationship hasn’t been fixed yet and remains the same per Carmelo Anthony.
Carmelo Anthony’s performance under George Karl
George Karl was assigned as the head coach for the Denver Nuggets in 2005 and he continued on the job till 2013. Carmelo Anthony was also part of the squad when Karl took over the coaching staff as the head coach.
Initially, their relationship was not bad, but as time went by, the tension between them rose. Karl was not good when it came to dealing with superstars in a team and Melo was a hot topic at that time. He was seen as a rival to LeBron James who recently congratulated Melo’s son for starting his basketball journey.
Despite the strained relationship with Karl, Melo did his job and bagged several achievements for the team and himself. He carried the Nuggets to the playoffs multiple times and was named as an NBA All-Star 10 times. He also became the NBA scoring champion in 2013. However, as the relationship grew more tense, Melo requested a trade and ended his relationship with the Nuggets on a sore note.
What do you think about Carmelo Anthony’s beef with George Karl? Do you think that Melo should have finished his career at the Nuggets? We are eager to hear your thoughts, so drop down in the comments and let us know.
