The NBA has really pushed fans into a glass case of emotion this year. There was the bombshell Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. Then, there was the Memphis Grizzlies' firing of head coach Taylor Jenkins on March 29. Just when you thought things couldn't get any crazier before the end of the regular season and start of the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets stepped up to the plate, fiugratiely and literally.
On Tuesday, ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania was first to report that the Nuggets were firing head coach Michael Malone. That's right, just five days before the end of the season, and with the Nuggets in playoff position with a 47-32 record, the team fired Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.
With Malone out, assistant coach David Adelman will fill in on an interim basis for the rest of the campaign.
Let's just say that NBA fans, not just Nuggets fans, couldn't believe the news once it dropped.
NBA fans couldn't believe the Nuggets fired head coach Michael Malone
Ain’t not way the nuggets really just fired Michael Malone WTF?!?! The playoffs are literally starting in less than two weeks?!?! https://t.co/v3e4MDV1K7 pic.twitter.com/1FNI2Hlvga
— 🧘🏾♂️ (@bdrip1k) April 8, 2025
#thisleague https://t.co/DDrbrWDqKq
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 8, 2025
The Denver Nuggets went over their win total in every season under Michael Malone until this one.
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) April 8, 2025
I understand the Grizzlies' rationale for firing Taylor Jenkins, but until we know more, the Nuggets firing Michael Malone a week and change before the postseason is insane.
— Jacob Moreno (@jmoreno76ers) April 8, 2025
No.
— Tatiana (@Tatianaclinares) April 8, 2025
This is not real. Not Michael Malone.
wtf. pic.twitter.com/n3sRqjnfD6
This might be even more stupid than when the Sacramento Kings fired Michael Malone and that is an amazingly high bar to clear
— Aaron Bruski (@aaronbruski) April 8, 2025
Denver firing Michael Malone 10 days before the playoffs begin is the most insane timing in NBA history. This makes Memphis firing Taylor Jenkins look like NOTHING.
— Danny Cunningham (@RealDCunningham) April 8, 2025
The timing on this decision is what's most perplexing. The Nuggets are on the verge of preparing for the playoffs or the play-in tournament, the latter of which is in play due to how closely contested the Western Conference is behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets.
Back in 2015, the Nuggets hired Malone to be their head coach after his firing from the Sacramento Kings. After the first three seasons, Malone turned the Nuggets into consistent playoff contenders. Then, two years ago, Malone led Denver to its first-ever NBA Championship after they defeated the Miami Heat in five games.
Through 10 seasons as head coach, Malone accumulated a 471-327 overall record and a 44-36 playoff record. Malones' 471 wins rank as the most ever by a coach in Nuggets history.
The Nuggets made the shocking choice to move forward with Adelman as the coach for the rest of the way over Malone. We'll see if that was the right choice.