Michael Malone is officially Nuggets royalty after win No. 300

The Nuggets’ loss in Game 82 in Minnesota to close the 2017-18 regular season would have gotten a lot of coaches in Michael Malone’s position fired.

Missing the playoffs in each of your first three years on the job as Malone did in Denver is a death sentence in today’s NBA. Owners don’t have time to wait around for you to start wining. They’ve got tickets to sell and playoff money to pocket.

But in Denver, there was no real discussion of firing Malone after the 2018 season. Josh Kroenke saw the vision that Tim Connelly had for the roster and also recognized that Malone had taken the Nuggets from 33 to 46 wins in three years. Two days after the Game 82 defeat, Connelly confirmed that Malone would return for a fourth year.

He’s now midway through his seventh season in Denver. Malone’s the fifth longest-tenured coach in the NBA behind only Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra, Steve Kerr, and Quinn Snyder. He’s watched over a Nuggets team that’s transitioned from sexy upstart to Western Conference disruptor to championship contender.

Thursday in Sacramento, Malone got his 300th career win over the organization that fired him after 1 1/2 seasons back in 2014. That had to feel sweet. The Nuggets handled the Kings 128-110 behind a season-high 31 points from Will Barton and 25 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block from Nikola Jokic. Monte Morris also chipped in 19 points to go with 4 assists.

Jokic made sure to present Malone with the game ball in Denver’s locker room.

“I want to say something, Coach. ‘Congrats. 300 wins,’” Jokic said. “I’m glad that it’s against SAC because they fired him. ‘You’re good to us.’”

What Jok said😂

Congrats on this milestone, coach! pic.twitter.com/2wYA7VOp7c

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 25, 2022

With 300 wins, Malone officially joins Nuggets royalty. He currently has the third-most wins in franchise history behind Doug Moe (432) and George Karl (423). If the Nuggets were to average 46 wins per year — a conservative estimate for a Jokic-led team — Malone will pass Moe in three seasons.

“He gave me an opportunity,” Jokic said. “I really love to battle with him. It’s a beautiful journey. Hopefully, it’s just going to get better.”

The “opportunity” that Jokic speaks of changed the course of Nuggets history. On December 15, 2016, Malone made the decision to pull Jusuf Nurkic from Denver’s starting lineup ahead of a home matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers. Nikola Jokic became the starting center that night and the Nuggets never looked back.

Just three players remain on the Nuggets’ roster from that game: Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Will Barton, Denver’s longest-tenured player who’s now just five 3-pointers away from becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in made 3s. When Malone arrived in Denver in 2015, Barton told his new coach that he didn’t feel like he got a fair shake in Sacramento and that he was impressed with how he had coached that season with the Kings.

“I thought he was doing a hell of a job that year. I always felt like he should have still been their head coach,” Barton said. “But fortunately for us, he became ours.”

“I told him before the game, I was joking with him. This is the house that Michael Malone built.”

Jokic has of course carried the flag for the Nuggets throughout the last few years. He’s been the best player in the NBA for the last two seasons and an All-Star for the last four. He’s the No. 1 reason behind the Nuggets’ sustained success.

But Malone’s imprints are all over this era of Nuggets basketball. The pair of 3-1 comebacks that Denver made during the 2020 playoffs? Malone’s fight and never-say-die attitude helped keep that team believing. The Seven win in Utah? The shorthanded, undermanned victories that Denver has piled up over the years? Beating the Pacers in Indiana this season without Jokic? Malone deserves partial credit for all of those. You constantly hear opposing coaches and people within the league rave about how prepared the Nuggets always are.

The Nuggets are now 34-25 on the season. How they’ve hung onto the 6th spot in the West with no Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. is nothing short of remarkable. Denver’s coach deserves credit for that accomplishment too.

Malone’s the ultimate coach’s coach. He’s a traditionalist who doesn’t get lost in his own numbers and hates talking about his career accomplishments. He’s an absolute grinder who’s only come up for air once this season. Over the All-Star break, Malone traveled to Kansas City with his family to watch his daughter’s volleyball tournament. Picture that image for one second. You couldn’t pay me enough to be the referee officiating those matches with no DeMarcus Cousins in attendance to calm his coach down.

“This is a tough business,” Malone said after win No. 300. “I got fired in my first job. I’ve seen my father get fired. This business is not for the weak-minded. I’m just thankful to be in an organization that values family, culture, and to have ownership continue to believe in me means the world to me and my family. Here’s to 300 more.”