Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone isn't one to just sit on the sidelines with a whistle, clipboard or stopwatch in hand as he surveys the prospects during training camp. Nope, this is a dude who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty right in the thick of it.
The proof is in a 24-second video that surfaced on Twitter showing the coach in a scrimmage as a point guard. Granted, he's never been an NBA player, having suited up with the collegiate Loyola Greyhounds for four seasons until 1993. But for a guy who's roughly a foot shorter than the average training camp player and in his late 40s, the dude's still got the moves.
Dribbling, dodging, and weaving his way around the perimeter of the paint, Malone may have been subbing in for a prospect who was absent at the time. Or he may have decided to demonstrate on the court the intrinsic details of the scrimmage and formation that the rest of the athletes needed to understand. Whatever the reason, Malone hardly looked like he was breaking a sweat.
His reputation for eschewing the sidelines did get the better of him during the 2017-2018 regular season. Back in November, when the Nuggets played the Lakers in Los Angeles, Malone was suspended for one game after stepping onto the court, delaying the game and making contact with an official. It was his way of making a point when arguing about a technical foul committed by his center Nikola Jokic, but it certainly didn't help Denver, which lost that night 127-109.
Helming the Nuggets for the fourth season, Malone was named best assistant coach in 2012 when he was with the Golden State Warriors. That award had a lot to do with getting the underdog Warriors to the Western Conference finals after upsetting heavily favored Denver, ironically the team he now coaches.
Last season, while Denver had a positive won-loss percentage of .561, that wasn't enough to earn a playoff berth. The Nugget finished in ninth in the Western Conference, one point behind the Minnesota Timberwolves. Obviously getting the team into the post-season weighs heavily on Malone's mind this season.
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