George Karl’s birthday message to Nikola Jokic is far from a token of appreciation

George Karl, in his five-decade-long coaching career, has seen a fair share of talents on the court. His management issues, rifts with players and GMs are enough to create a book solely for the gossip lovers. Leaving his coaching days behind, the former Nuggets HC even published a book of similar content, titled “Furious George: My Forty Years Surviving NBA Divas, Clueless GMs, and Poor Shot Selection.”

Recently, his seemingly buried hatchet with a former player he coached, again reemerged. The player in question is Carmelo Anthony. But how does Nikola Jokic get involved in it?

George Karl’s subtle jab at Carmelo Anthony through Jokic birthday wish

George Karl never shied away from bringing down the hammer on his players during his active coaching days or even after his retirement. Carmelo Anthony was not exempt from his criticism of players.

The former Nuggets HC, on the fine morning of 19 February, woke up and simply chose violence. The 72-year-old took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to wish Nuggets poster boy Nikola Jokic a very happy birthday with the caption, “Happy bday to the champ, the ultimate team guy and the greatest player to wear #15 in Denver hoops history.”

While there was no harm in wishing someone on their special day, the nasty work was lying just below the post.

Tagging Carmelo Anthony in the post was a bold move, as he expressed his displeasure with the Nuggets for giving Jokic the number 15 jersey. According to Melo, it was a “petty maneuver” by the Denver-based franchise to diminish his legacy with the Nuggets. Keeping this in mind, Karl wasted no time in poking fun at his former player by declaring Jokic as the best number 15 in Nuggets history.

Reason for George Karl’s beef with Carmelo Anthony

In his acclaimed book mentioned earlier in the article, Karl George went after Carmelo Anthony. He described the 10-time NBA All-Star as an immature and challenging player to coach, despite praising his remarkable offensive skills.

Karl openly criticized Melo’s defensive efforts. Anthony played under Karl for six seasons at the Nuggets. While the Nuggets were dominant in the Western Conference, their quest for the NBA championship consistently fell short in the playoffs.

Recently, on his “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast with Kid Mero, the former Nuggets number 15 revealed how his first meeting with the veteran coach went. Melo recounted that in the coach’s office, Karl called him “overrated” during their very first face-to-face conversation. “We get to Milwaukee after shootaround, called me to his room and tell me, ‘Hey man, like I think you’re overrated. We have a lot of work to do,'” said Anthony.

Just hours after this revelation, Karl took to social media to express his disapproval of Melo disclosing the secret story. Karl reiterated his belief that Melo was indeed overrated, even referencing Detlef Schrempf as an example. Since then, the two have exchanged tweets on the social media platform, and with the latest addition, it seems like their beef won’t be ending anytime soon.