By any reasonable measure, this Denver Nuggets season was a success. Sure, they regressed modestly from their 2023 and 2024 juggernauts, but they remain in line for a top-four seed in the Western Conference.
That, apparently, was not good enough for the Nuggets' brass—and it was urgent enough for them to fire coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth in a Tuesday house-cleaning for the ages.
Per ESPN and HoopsHype, the dismissal made history: It tied for the latest coaching firing in the history of the NBA. The only other NBA boss fired this late in the season was Hubie Brown, who the Atlanta Hawks let go with three games left in the 1981 campaign.
Additionally, per HoopsHype, Malone's 47 wins tied a record for a coach fired midseason—joining Larry Brown, who was fired by the New Jersey Nets in 1983.
That's all to say: precedent for Malone's sudden exit is thin, and Denver will need some playoff wins in the near term to justify it.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Michael Malone's Firing by the Nuggets Tied an Unenviable NBA Record.
