Championship-Winning NBA Coach Fired Just 3 Games Before the Playoffs
Sometimes, being a championship-winning head coach just isn't enough. That's the case with one NBA coach who has reportedly been let go just days before the playoffs start.
The Denver Nuggets have fired head coach Michael Malone, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. In an April 8 post on X, Charania says sources have told the sports outlet that Malone is done with the franchise.
He added, "Days before the NBA playoffs, the Nuggets dismissed Malone in a meeting today. Malone is the winningest coach in franchise history since being hired in 2015 – and led the Nuggets to the 2023 NBA championship."
The firing is a shock to some fans and analysts, since the Denver Nuggets currently have a 47-32 record and are No. 4 in the Western Conference with the playoffs coming up quickly.
As Charania noted, Malone has a solid track record with the team. The coach, 53, has coached the Nuggets since the 2015-16 season and made it to the playoffs in each of the previous six seasons, as well as, of course, a NBA championship in 2023.
So, less than two years after he won the team a NBA championship, he's out. Add to that the fact that his total record coaching in Denver is 471-327, which, as Charania pointed out, makes Malone the winningest coach in franchise history.
BREAKING: The Denver Nuggets have fired coach Michael Malone, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/bZoKRx6kgt
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 8, 2025
Days before the NBA playoffs, the Nuggets dismissed Malone in a meeting today. Malone is the winningest coach in franchise history since being hired in 2015 – and led the Nuggets to the 2023 NBA championship. https://t.co/9MeAjEuAQo
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 8, 2025
The Nuggets are on a bit of a downward swing right now, however, having gone 3-7 over their last ten games and losing four in a row. But, over the course of the past five seasons, the Denver Nuggets have been among the strongest teams in the NBA.
Malone and star player Nikola Jokic have been a major part of the franchise's brand and success.
Last season, the Nuggets were knocked out in the second round of the 2024 playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven games.
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