Inside Michael Malone’s career rise, from applying to join secret service to taking Denver Nuggets to first NBA Finals
MICHAEL Malone said the Denver Nuggets were getting just an average guy in him when he became their head coach in 2015.
However, that simple family man who drove a pickup truck has proven to be everything but your average coach – as evidenced by the Nuggets' path to their first-ever NBA Finals.
Malone's coaching beginnings already showed the New York native was cut from a different cloth.
Many in the Loyola alum's place would count on job opportunities to naturally come his way having his dad, Brendan, being a Detroit Pistons assistant with years of NBA experience at the time.
Instead, Malone sent about 75 letters to Division I coaches asking for a chance to work for them — while juggling two jobs after graduation.
His alternative to coaching wasn't an ordinary one either.
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Malone pondered a career with the Secret Service as doubts over his future started to creep in.
Then, Providence coach Pete Gillen took a chance on him in 1995, offering a job that kickstarted his coaching career and allowed him to meet his wife Jocelyn.
Six years later, Malone was already in the NBA, joining the New York Knicks as an assistant on Jeff Van Gundy's staff.
Stints with the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers and Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors followed, sandwiched between a brief spell with New Orleans Pelicans.
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His work in the San Francisco Bay Area came to an end after just two years with head coach Mark Jackson's sacking in 2013 – and yet impressed so many, including Golden State's stars.
Draymond Green attributed some of the fabled Warriors dynasty's success later in the decade to his ex-coach.
Now, Malone has a chance to build his own dynasty in Denver, something he didn't have time to achieve in his first head coaching job with the Sacramento Kings that ended after just over a season.
The sense of stability he enjoys in Colorado has been key to making that happen.
Malone said it would hopefully be his last job when he became the Nuggets' head coach, signaling to his new bosses they would need to trust the process.
And they have, which is why he has been such a good fit in Denver as Malone explained in a press conference before Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals.
He lauded the Nuggets' leadership for their patience and the ability to see the big picture.
Malone then pointed out how that long-term vision has paid off with many NBA teams now wanting to emulate Denver's philosophy, developing their own stars and adding the right pieces around them.
One could say that something about the Nuggets gives off a similar feel to how the Tim Duncan era began in San Antonio under Gregg Popovich's eye.
Or, how the Pittsburgh Steelers came to win an NFL-best six Super Bowl titles – which is the analogy Malone went for just days before the Finals series against the Miami Heat began.
"You look at teams like the Steelers, they've had three coaches in [what] seems like 70 years," Malone said.
"The programs that change your coach every year or two never got off the ground."
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"You have to let something take root, let it grow, go with the growing pains, and hopefully it blossoms into something like we've seen here in Denver."
That sounds like a visionary talking – even if deep down Malone is just a simple man.