Former head coach of the Denver Nuggets, Michael Malone, made an appearance in the 2025 NBA playoffs. Malone was at ESPN’s coverage of Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves. He joined the network’s coverage of the rest of the conference finals in the West.
It came at a timely occasion since his former team didn’t qualify and were eliminated in the second round by the Thunder. The Nuggets forced the series to go seven games but couldn’t secure the victory in the seventh and final game.
During the ESPN broadcast, Malone looked like he had moved on from the Nuggets. He was fired by the Nuggets from the position before the season ended. It was an awkward timing since there were three games left in the campaign.
Following the 114-88 win by the Thunder, Malone gave his thoughts on what he saw in the game. The former head coach had high praise for All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He went as far as to talk about how OKC’s star deserves the MVP award.
“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he showed why he’s the MVP,” Malone said.
Mike Malone just said SGA is the MVP
He HATES the Nuggets & Jokic now 😂💀 pic.twitter.com/XyRfqSv4fc
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 21, 2025
This was a subtle shot at Nikola Jokic, whom he had coached since 2015, at the start of his NBA career. Malone helped the Serbian big man improve into an All-Star and, eventually, a three-time MVP. This season, he has the chance to win the award for the fourth time. However, SGA has played incredibly well to lead the Thunder to the top of the West with a 68-14 record.
Additionally, Malone and Jokic worked together to help the Denver Nuggets win the NBA title in 2023.
Former NBA player suggests the Denver Nuggets should let one starter go this summer
After the Denver Nuggets were eliminated, there were a lot of aspects that experts pointed out that need to change. However, former NBA player Chandler Parsons believes there should be one significant change that should happen for the Nuggets.
On Tuesday’s episode of FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” Parsons said a starter from the Nuggets need to be traded.
“The only thing they could do is possibly trade one of them and I think that would be Michael Porter. He’d be the one to go,” Parsons said. “It’s not going to be Murray, it’s not going to be Jokic, obviously. Aaron Gordon, that’s someone I want in that locker room.”
However, one thing to take note of is that Porter played through a shoulder injury he suffered early in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers. Since then, he has not been able to take a rest and has played through it.
In the postseason, he averaged 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds on 39.2 percent from the field.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
