Ex-Nuggets coach Michael Malone joins ESPN for Western Conference finals

Field Level Media|published: Mon 19th May, 14:47 2025

NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets

Apr 1, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone in the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Michael Malone, fired by the Denver Nuggets with just three games left in the regular season, will join the ESPN coverage team at the Western Conference finals.

Two years removed from leading the Nuggets to the franchise's lone NBA championship, Malone was axed by Denver just over a month ago. Under interim coach David Adelman, the Nuggets went on to push the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder to a seventh game in the second round of the playoffs, where they lost 125-93 on Sunday.

Malone had guided the Nuggets since 2015, winning a franchise-record 471 games as a head coach during his tenure. Under Malone, Denver earned a playoffs spot in six straight years before he was fired. The Nuggets clinched a spot this season less than week after making their coaching change.

Malone will serve on the "NBA Countdown" desk, which will be on-site for each game of the Western Conference finals series featuring the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Thunder. He will do pregame and halftime analysis alongside Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Bob Myers, Kendrick Perkins and Shams Charania.

The Western Conference finals begin on Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

--Field Level Media