Michael Malone has become a polarizing presence in Denver.
On the one hand, he was the head coach of the first Nuggets team to ever win the NBA championship. On the other, he was fired with just weeks remaining in the regular season with no shortage of drama swirling around the franchise.
But if there were any Nuggets fans who were on the fence about their former head coach, they may have made their decision earlier this week, as it took all of one appearance on ESPN for Malone to make headlines. During a discussion regarding the Western Conference Finals matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves, the 53-year-old made a comment that many perceived as a slight at his former star player, Nikola Jokić, proclaiming Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the league’s MVP.
“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he showed why he’s the MVP,” Malone the Thunder’s Game 1 victory on Tuesday. “He took over in the second half, did so in a very efficient manner, and put the team on his back when they needed him to do so.”
“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he showed why he’s the MVP.”
Michael Malone gave SGA his props after OKC’s Game 1 win over Minnesota 🙌 pic.twitter.com/5nSAUKuCJG
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 21, 2025
Malone’s comments unsurprisingly didn’t play well in Denver, especially considering that he had previously campaigned for Jokić to win what would have been his fourth career MVP award when he was still coaching the Nuggets. Having been made aware of the backlash in the days that followed, Malone then clarified his comments ahead Game 2 on Thursday night.
“When Nikola won the first of his three MVPs — and I did vote for him again this year, if I had a vote,” Malone said on ESPN’s pregame show, where he served as a guest analyst. “Want to make sure the people in Denver know that because, right now, I’m getting a lot of heat back home.”
“I did vote for [Nikola Jokic] … I want to make sure the people in Denver know that.”
Michael Malone had to set the record straight 😂 pic.twitter.com/dIbYCeAQrh
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 23, 2025
While Malone’s original comments were much more of an endorsement of Gilgeous-Alexander than they were a slight toward Jokić, it’s not surprising that many would read between the lines considering his messy exit from Denver. Rather than letting the speculation run rampant, however, the ex-head coach opted to set the record straight, which was probably a wise decision at this point in his young media career.
Ultimately, Malone wasn’t shading Jokić so much as he was acknowledging Gilgeous-Alexander cementing his status as one of the very best players in the NBA. And to that en, it’s worth noting that the Oklahoma City guard was officially presented with the Michael Jordan Trophy on Thursday night, just moments after Malone gave Jokić his final endorsement.