Former NBA coach Michael Malone has taken to television after his dismissal from the Denver Nuggets. As ESPN's newest analyst, Malone is learning what it means to work in media and his first big test came on Tuesday night when he had to face backlash for his comments on the MVP race, where he spurned his former player, Nikola Jokic. In a quick but decisive moment ahead of Game 2, he took an opportunity to make peace with fans and clarify his stance once and for all.
"Nikola [Jokic] won the first of his three MVPs and I did vote for him again this year if I had a vote," said Malone on NBA Countdown. "I want to make sure the people in Denver know that because right now, I'm getting a lot of heat back home."
Malone, 53, coached the Nuggets for 10 years, leading the locker room from 2015 to 2025, when he was replaced with David Adelman. While his resume may not be as prestigious as Erik Spoelstra or Gregg Popovich, Malone still gets credit for his role in starting one of the most prosperous eras in the franchise's history.
With Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Malone helped the Nuggets win a title in 2023 and it came after years of dominant regular seasons. Unfortunately, a falling out with former GM Calvin Booth cost Malone his job and he's on the outside looking in, just like the rest of us.
As a former Nuggets coach, and the only one to win a championship in the city, Malone's loyalty remains to Denver and the fans there expect him to show some level of respect for the guy who made the dynasty possible. Malone saw for himself how great Jokic was and he was there to witness him capture three of the last four MVPs.
In the 2024-25 campaign, the Joker was building up another solid case and many will argue that he should have won it for what was the best season of his career. With averages of 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game on 57.6% shooting, Jokic put up another historic stat line that actually outperforms his previous MVP seasons.
Sadly, the Nuggets weren't quite good enough to justify giving him his fourth MVP over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the league in scoring (32.7 points per game) for the best team in the NBA (68-14). He was unstoppable on offense and was consistent for the Thunder all season.
Now that Shai is the official MVP winner, we already know that Jokic will have to wait another year to put his name back on the ballot. But with the trajectory he's going, Jokic will have no problems contending for future MVP honors in the years to come.
As for his former coach, Michael Malone, it remains to be seen if he'll get another NBA job or not. For his work with the Nuggets, and as an NBA champion, Malone is bound to get more opportunities but it's tough to get in a better situation than coaching Nikola Jokic on a championship-contending team.
As he continues his transition to the media, Nuggets fans will no doubt keep him in check if he forgets where he came from but it seems he's already learned his lesson after relentless criticism from his home crowd.
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