The NBA business can be absolutely brutal sometimes. Michael Malone won the Nuggets their first NBA championship in 2023, and yet that was not enough to keep his job secure just two seasons later. In April 2025, on the cusp of the playoffs, the Nuggets decided to part ways with Malone, citing differences in the vision of the team’s future with the front office.
Now, months after the news broke initially, the former Nuggets head coach has broken his silence on the reality of the matter while addressing a potential return to coaching in the league on his latest interview with the SiriusXM Radio show.
“In my heart, Frank, I’m a coach. I’m the son of a coach, it’s definitely something I would love to get back in,” said Malone initially.
“I still have a bad taste in my mouth with how things ended in Denver, and I’d love to go out on my own terms. With that being said, what I’ve learned over my many years in this league is how important it is to go to work every day with people you care about, trust, respect, and who are all pulling in the same direction.”
“So, when I have a chance to go back into the NBA, I just want to make sure I’m working with a group of like-minded people, share a common vision, and are willing to do whatever it takes to make that vision a reality. And if that situation pops up, I would love to get on that sideline. I’m a competitor and I’m a teacher. I am a coach first and foremost, TV star second.”
The two-time former All-Star game head coach spent a decade at the helm in Denver before the Nuggets franchise parted ways with him. The least he deserved was that the Nuggets wait out the remaining season before letting him go, but the franchise’s president, Josh Kroenke, thought otherwise.
Malone did issue a statement initially after parting ways with the Nuggets, but that was only a message to show gratitude to the Nuggets organization and its fans. He has now brought forth the reality of how he felt about leaving the team.
According to NBA Insider Brian Windhorst’s report from April, Malone did not have a “calm” exit from the Nuggets, as his initial response was reportedly as fiery as his personality. But the franchise’s President said in his public statement after the decision to part ways with Malone that he did not feel things were “headed in the right direction” in the locker room and blamed the former GM Calvin Booth for it as well.
As per the NBA, even though Malone and Booth led Denver to its first championship in 47 years, they had a long-running disagreement over how to build the team’s roster. This caused a toxic environment that hurt the team’s performance and led Kroenke to fire both of them.
Malone had a 471-327 (.590) record with the Nuggets in the ten seasons he spent in Denver. With his work experience and championship-caliber coaching, Malone should not find it tough to make it back into the NBA coaching world someday when a vacancy opens up.
