When Michael Malone was fired by the Denver Nuggets this spring, he made history as the latest in-season dismissal in NBA history.
Malone was the third longest-tenured head coach in the league and won the NBA championship in 2023. Without him, Denver made a surprise run to Game 7 of the second round, losing on Sunday in blowout fashion.
Now, Malone has resurfaced. ESPN announced Monday that Malone will join the network’s coverage of the Western Conference Finals starting Tuesday.
Malone will be a panelist on NBA Countdown, the network’s pregame and halftime studio show.
According to a press release from the network, the show will be on-site in Minneapolis and Oklahoma City for the series. Regular panelists Stephen A. Smith, Bob Myers, Kendrick Perkins and Shams Charania will broadcast alongside Malone and anchor Malika Andrews.
Last year, ESPN and TNT welcomed future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul as well as star forwards Paul George, Josh Hart and Julius Randle to their desks for coverage.
But this move throws an interesting wrinkle into the media musical chairs this summer. If Michael Malone, 53, were to take a break from coaching, he could be a top candidate to broadcast for ESPN, Amazon or NBC next season.