The Denver Nuggets are sitting at fourth place in the Western Conference with a record of 47-32. While neither the record nor place in the standings are awful, the Nuggets are well behind the first place Oklahoma City Thunder, who boast a 64-14 record.
This is disappointing for the Nuggets, who paired three-time MVP winner Nikola Jokic with the NBA’s all-time triple-double leader and another former MVP in Russell Westbrook this offseason.
The Nuggets’ relative mediocrity has been a shock over the course of the year, and things have taken a sharp downturn as of late, with the team losing its last four games.
Now, there are consequences for the way things are heading, according to ESPN’s lead NBA insider.
“BREAKING: The Denver Nuggets have fired coach Michael Malone, sources tell ESPN,” reported Shams Charania on Tuesday afternoon.
Charania then followed up on his initial report with some context into how shocking the move is.
“Days before the NBA playoffs, the Nuggets dismissed Malone in a meeting today. Malone is the winningest coach in franchise history since being hired in 2015 – and led the Nuggets to the 2023 NBA championship.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the Nuggets replace Malone with the playoffs so close to starting.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.