Michael Malone (born September 15, 1971) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach who is the head coach of the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He has also been the head coach of the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. Malone previously served as an assistant coach of the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, and

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

Early life and education

Born in the Astoria neighborhood of the New York City borough

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, Malone is the son of

Brendan Malone Brendan Thomas Malone (born April 21, 1942) is an American basketball coach. Early life Malone grew up in Astoria, Queens in New York City and graduated from Rice High School. Malone's father, also named Brendan, unloaded freight cars for the R ...

, a former NBA head coach. After graduating from

Seton Hall Preparatory School Seton Hall Preparatory School, generally called Seton Hall Prep or "The Prep", is a Roman Catholic all boys' high school located in the suburban community of West Orange in Essex County, New Jersey, operating under the supervision of the Arch ...

, Malone attended prep school at

Worcester Academy Worcester Academy is a private school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the oldest educational institution founded in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational prepara ...

in the 1988–89 school year. He then graduated from

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the ...

in 1994 with a degree in history and played on the

Loyola Greyhounds men's basketball The Loyola Greyhounds men's basketball team represents Loyola University Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition. They are currently led by third-year head coach Tavaras Hardy. It became a member of the Patriot ...

team from 1989 to 1993. He appeared in 107 games and started 39 of them as a point guard. During his four seasons with the Greyhounds, Malone totaled 370 points, 279 assists and 79 steals in 18.5 minutes per game.

Coaching career

While completing his degree at Loyola, Malone was an assistant high school basketball coach at

Friends School of Baltimore Friends School of Baltimore is a private Quaker school in Baltimore, serving students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. One of the prestigious Roland Park 5 Preparatory Schools, Friends has been described by author Judy Colbert as "a challen ...

. After graduating from Loyola, Malone joined

Oakland University Oakland University is a public research university in Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson, it was initially known as Michigan State University-Oakland, operating under the Mi ...

as an assistant coach for Golden Grizzlies men's basketball under coach

Greg Kampe Greg Charles Kampe (born December 9, 1955) is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Oakland University. He guided the Golden Grizzlies to their first NCAA Division I tournament and tournament win in ...

. Malone was about to start training to join the

Michigan State Police The Michigan State Police (MSP) is the state police agency for the U.S. state of Michigan. The MSP is a full-service law enforcement agency, with its sworn members having full police powers statewide. The department was founded in 1917 as a wart ...

before getting a job offer from

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

coach

Pete Gillen Peter Joseph Gillen (born June 20, 1947) is an American former college basketball head coach of the Division I, Providence Friars and Virginia Cavaliers and is a member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. Gillen is currently a college b ...

. Malone was an assistant coach for

Providence Friars men's basketball The Providence Friars men's basketball team represents Providence College in NCAA Division I competition. They were a founding member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 until 2013, and are now a member of the current Big East Conferen ...

from 1995 to 1998. In the 1998–99 season, Malone was director of men's basketball administration at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

Early NBA years (2001–2011)

He later moved up to the NBA in 2001 as a coaching associate with the

who worked with players, coaching staff, personnel and the video coordinator and edited scouting reports. The Knicks promoted Malone to assistant coach in 2003. Malone later served as an assistant coach for the

from to . With Cleveland, Malone helped coach the Cavaliers to five consecutive playoff appearances, including the

2007 NBA Finals The 2007 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2006–07 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs de ...

, and a franchise-record, league-best 66–16 season in the . Malone was an assistant coach with the

in the . Allowing a league-best 8.7 fewer points per game than last season, the Hornets had the most improved defense of the season with Malone as assistant and made the 2011 Playoffs.

Golden State Warriors (2011–2013)

The

hired Malone in the summer of 2011 as an assistant coach under

Mark Jackson Mark A. Jackson (born April 1, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player. A point guard from St. John's University, he played for the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah ...

. In the , the Warriors improved from a 23–43 record to finish 47–35 and earn the team's first playoff berth since 2007. As the sixth seed in the 2013 NBA Playoffs, the Warriors upset the third-seed

in the first round and lost to the eventual Western Conference champion

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

in six games the next round. Malone was reportedly the highest-paid NBA assistant coach in the . In 2012, Malone was named the best assistant coach by the NBA general managers. Several Warriors, including

Draymond Green Draymond Jamal Green Sr. (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the Power forward (basketball), power forward ...

and

Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, ...

have credited Malone as being a huge part of the team's success after his departure.

Sacramento Kings (2013–2014)

On June 3, 2013, Malone was hired by majority owner

Vivek Ranadivé Vivek Yeshwant Ranadivé (; born 7 October 1957) is an Indian-American business executive, engineer, author, speaker and philanthropist.D'Agostino, RyanThe Man Who Knows Everything ''Esquire''. 19 January 2012. Ranadivé is the founder and form ...

as the new head coach of the

. With the hiring, Malone and his father became the second father-son duo in NBA history, after

Bill Musselman William Clifford Musselman (August 13, 1940 – May 5, 2000) was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was known for his trademark intensity, once being quoted as saying, "Defeat is worse than death ...

and

Eric Musselman Eric Musselman (born November 19, 1964) is an American college basketball coach who is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas. He is the former head coach of the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors of the N ...

, to head coach an NBA team. On December 15, 2014, he was fired by the Kings after starting the 2014–15 season with an 11–13 win–loss record.

Denver Nuggets (2015–present)

On June 15, 2015, he was named the new head coach of the

. In the 2018–19 season, Malone led the Nuggets to the second seed in the Western Conference, behind the

, with a 54–28 record. In the Nuggets first playoff berth in six seasons, Denver defeated the

in the First Round in seven games, before being eliminated in the Semi-finals by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, also in seven games. On December 24, 2019, the Nuggets announced that they had agreed to a contract extension with Malone. During the 2020 playoffs in the

NBA Bubble The 2020 NBA Bubble, also referred to as the Disney Bubble or the Orlando Bubble, was the bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, that was created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to protect its pla ...

, the Nuggets would become the first team in league history to overcome multiple 3–1 deficits in a single postseason, defeating the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

and

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

in the First Round and Semi-finals respectively, in seven games after trailing 3–1 each series. Despite the historic feat, Denver would be eliminated in the Western Conference Finals by the eventual NBA champion, the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, in five games. On March 23, 2022, Malone and the Nuggets reached an agreement on a multi-year contract extension.

National team coaching career

In January 2020, Malone joined the Serbian national team coaching staff as a consultant for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Personal life

Malone and his wife have two daughters.

Head coaching record

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Conference Finals Conference Finals may refer to: * NBA Conference Finals, National Basketball Association * NHL Conference Finals, National Hockey League * KHL Conference Finals The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) Conference Finals are the Eastern Conference and Wes ...

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References

External links

NBA.com profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, Michael 1971 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Denver Nuggets head coaches Guards (basketball) Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Loyola Greyhounds men's basketball players Manhattan Jaspers basketball coaches New Orleans Hornets assistant coaches New York Knicks assistant coaches Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball coaches People from Lafayette, California People from Placer County, California Providence Friars men's basketball coaches Sacramento Kings head coaches Seton Hall Preparatory School alumni Sportspeople from Queens, New York Worcester Academy alumni