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Nuggets Shockingly Fire Coach Michael Malone With Three Games Remaining

The Nuggets shocked the NBA world on Tuesday.

Madison Williams

Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone stands on the sidelines.
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone stands on the sidelines. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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The Denver Nuggets have fired coach Michael Malone after nearly 10 seasons, ESPN's Shams Charania reported. Charania noted Malone was fired in a meeting on Tuesday.

This news stunned the NBA world as the Nuggets currently sit fourth in the Western Conference with a 47–32 record. Denver will now be preparing for the NBA playoffs without Malone leading them. The Nuggets only have three regular season games left before the postseason begins. Assistant coach David Adelman will serve as interim in Malone's place.

Malone led the franchise to its first NBA title in 2023. He leaves the franchise as the team's winningest coach in history with a 510–394 record.

The Nuggets later released a statement regarding Malone's firing

"It is with no pleasure that we announce that we have relieved Michael Malone of his head coaching duties, effectively immediately," Josh Kroenke, vice chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment said. "... This decision was not made lightly and was evaluated very carefully, and we do it only with the intention of giving our group the best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA Championship and delivering another title to Denver and our fans everywhere."

On top of firing Malone on Tuesday, the Nuggets also fired general manager Calvin Booth. Fans are overall really puzzled about what led Denver to part ways with both Malone and Booth at this point in the season.

It's important to note that Malone is the only head coach three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has played for as both Malone and Jokic joined the Nuggets in 2015. They've been quite the coach-player duo during that time.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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