Former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has gone into damage control mode after drawing the ire of his ex-team’s fan base.
Malone, who has transitioned into an analyst role with ESPN, made waves after Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals when he called Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander “the MVP” after OKC blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Some fans felt like the veteran coach sounded bitter about the Nuggets firing him with three games left in the regular season. Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander were the top two vote-getters for the NBA MVP award, with SGA besting the Joker by a narrow margin.
Malone addressed the issue Thursday before tipoff of Thunder-Timberwolves Game 2. He clarified that Jokic was still his MVP despite Malone’s unceremonious exit from the team.
“I did vote for Nikola Jokic [for MVP] this year, if I had a vote,” Malone said. “I want to make sure the people of Denver know that. Because I’m getting a lot of heat back home.”
“I did vote for Nikola Jokić (for MVP) this year if I had a vote. I want to make sure the people of Denver know that. Because I’m getting a lot of heat back home.” 😅
– Michael Malone
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— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 23, 2025
In all fairness to Malone, Gilgeous-Alexander had been considered the favorite to win the award throughout the regular season. Calling SGA “the MVP” during postgame commentary does not automatically equate to Malone forgetting about Jokic — the man who led the Nuggets to a championship two seasons ago.
Despite voter fatigue and a worse regular-season record working against him, Jokic still received 29 of the 100 first-place votes for MVP. Jokic also got Malone’s unofficial vote.