Former Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony just recently announced his retirement from the game of basketball. Anthony will go down in history as one of the best pure scorers in the history of the league. He averaged 22.5 points per game across his 19 years in the pros, made ten All-Star teams, six All-NBA teams, and won the 2012-13 scoring title.
With Anthony's retirement dominating NBA storylines, Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum recently hopped on the I Got Next podcast and revealed why he didn't enjoy playing against Carmelo Anthony back when Anthony was a member of the Denver Nuggets, per a tweet from ClutchPoints' official Twitter account:
“The guy I hated playing the most was Denver Melo. Denver Melo… He had the whole package… Jab, post up, threes, one dribble and could dunk on you.”
“The guy I hated playing the most was Denver Melo. Denver Melo… He had the whole package… Jab, post up, threes, one dribble and could dunk on you.”
Nicolas Batum says of Carmelo Anthony on ‘I Got Next’ with @TomerAzarly, @JerryDonatien, and @jujufadoodoo 🔥 pic.twitter.com/i6vnT2EyW2
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 25, 2023
Nicolas Batum, 34, has played 15 years in the NBA and three as a member of the Clippers franchise. He averaged 6.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.6 blocks, 0.6 turnovers, and 1.9 personal fouls per game across 78 appearances this season (19 starts).
The Frenchman struggled to score the ball consistently in the 2022-23 campaign — Batum's 6.1 points per game average was his lowest since the 2019-20 season when he played just 22 games as a member of the Charlotte Hornets.
Back in the day, Nicolas Batum was one of the better perimeter defenders in the league, so for him to say that he disliked guarding Carmelo Anthony the most says a lot about how dominant of a scorer Anthony was with the Nuggets.