Four strikes and you are out.
In a shocking turn of events, Michael Malone, who coached the Denver Nuggets to their lone NBA championship in June 2023 and has guided the team to eight consecutive winning seasons, was abruptly fired Tuesday in a head scratching and stunning move that comes with just five days and three games left in the regular season.
Also relieved of his duties is general manager Calvin Booth, whose contract will not be renewed. The Nuggets said assistant coach David Adelman, son of Hall of Famer Rick Adelman, will take over the reins and become the coach for the remainder of the season.
Josh Kroenke, the vice chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, said “it is with no pleasure” that the Nuggets made the change at coach.
“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,” Kroenke said.
The Nuggets are in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 47-32 record this season with three games left but have dropped four consecutive games and are in a dog fight of teams battling for home-court advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs. Denver won the title in 2023 over the Miami Heat and lost a critical Game 7, at home at Ball Arena, in the Western Conference semifinals a year ago to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Malone had the fourth-longest tenure of any active NBA coach, behind San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Golden State’s Steve Kerr.
Malone’s record is 471-327 in 10 seasons as the team’s coach in the ‘Mile High City’, 39 more than Doug Moe for the franchise’s all-time coaching lead.
“While the timing of this decision is unfortunate, as Coach Malone helped build the foundation of our now championship level program, it is a necessary step to allow us to compete at the highest level right now. Championship level standards and expectations remain in place for the current season, and as we look to the future, we look forward to building on the foundations laid by Coach Malone over his record-breaking 10-year career in Denver,” Kroenke said.
Malone experienced consistent success over his decade in Denver. The Nuggets finished with losing records in his first two seasons and posted winning records in his next eight years with the club.
This season’s postseason appearance will be the team’s seventh in a row. They have not clinched a playoff berth yet this season but are guaranteed a spot in the play-in tournament in the worst-case scenario.
Starting with the first playoff appearance under Malone in 2019, the Nuggets got out of the first round six times in seven chances. They made the Western Conference finals in the Walt Disney World bubble in 2020 and then climbed their way up to the championship by winning an impressive 16 of 20 playoff games in 2023.
Booth has been the Nuggets’ GM for the past three seasons, with his first season being Denver’s championship season in 2022-23.
“I want to thank Calvin Booth for leading our front office for the past three years and most importantly for helping put the final pieces in place for the roster that delivered Denver and our fans their first NBA Championship. Calvin’s knowledge of the game, his passion for scouting, and his long history as a player and executive in the NBA helped lift our organization to new heights which we will continue moving forward,” Kroenke said in a statement.
Malone will not be without a job for long. There is no doubt he will be at the top of team’s radar next season.
