Michael Malone has led Denver to an 8-2 start this season.
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who led the team to the NBA title in 2022-23, has reportedly agreed to a contract extension with the team. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal will make Malone one of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA.
ESPN story on Denver coach Michael Malone agreeing on a lucrative contract extension https://t.co/WQd7oItHTL
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 13, 2023
Malone has coached the Nuggets since the start of the 2015-16 season, compiling a 375-272 record that includes five straight trips to the playoffs. Denver defeated the Miami Heat, 4-1, in the 2023 NBA Finals to secure the franchise’s first championship and has been knocked out in the first round only once during Malone’s tenure.
Aside from his success in the postseason, Malone has also been an All-Star coach twice in his career and is the third-winningest coach in Nuggets history, trailing only Hall of Famers George Karl (423) and Doug Moe (432). He is the fourth longest tenure in the league, trailing only the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich, the Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra and the Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr.
Malone was a longtime assistant with New York, Cleveland, New Orleans and Golden State before getting his first head coaching job with Sacramento. He was let go in his second season with the Kings in December 2014.
This season, Denver leads the Western Conference with an 8-2 record.
Malone is the son of longtime NBA coach Brendan Malone, who died last month. Brendan Malone was one of the driving forces behind the Detroit Pistons “Bad Boys” defenses in the late 1980s and early ’90s.
Michael Malone called his father his biggest fan, mentor and supporter. He said he was thinking of his father when the team raised the championship banner and players received their rings on opening night against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.