Syracuse Connection to NBA Finals
With the Miami Heat's game seven win over the Boston Celtics Monday night, the NBA Finals are set. The Heat will square off with the Denver Nuggets, with the winner hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy as NBA Champions. What does this have to do with Syracuse? There actually is a connection to the Orange.
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone's father is Brendan Malone. Brendan Malone was an assistant coach at Syracuse, under Hall of Fame head coach Jim Boeheim, from 1978-84. It is the longest stretch in one spot during his nearly 50 year coaching career.
Brendan Malone started coaching in 1967 as an assistant with Power Memorial Academy. He was an assistant in college through his stint with the Orange before becoming head coach of Rhode Island from 1984-86. Malone would spend the rest of his career in the NBA as an assistant and head coach.
Malone was an assistant with the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic. He was a head coach of the Toronto Raptors (their first head coach) and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Brendan's son, Michael, has been a coach for 30 years in college and pro. He was an assistant with Friends School of Baltimore, Oakland, Providence and Manhattan. In the NBA, he was an assistant with the Knicks, Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets and Golden State Warriors. In 2013, Malone was named head coach of the Sacramento Kings before becoming the Nuggets head coach in 2015.
The NBA Finals tips off on Thursday, June 1st and will be broadcast on ABC.
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