"I'm Definitely Not Done Coaching": Michael Malone Teases His Future Amidst Current Role As TV Analyst

For the first time in a dozen years, Michael Malone isn’t entering the NBA season with head coaching duties in mind. The one-time NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets has been signed by ESPN as a game analyst, which means that Malone will be communicating X’s and O’s to the viewing public rather than barking instructions to players.

Still, people are curious to know whether Malone has truly put his coaching days behind him. When he appeared on “Inside the NBA” last Thursday, Malone was asked by Kenny Smith to name the thing that he misses the most about coaching. Malone couldn’t help but take a nostalgic tone in his response.

“The camaraderie,” he said. “The most important thing that I miss is being a part of something bigger than myself. Being in the locker room with the players, being with the coaching staff, celebrating a big win.”

This certainly sounded like the thoughts of a man who still had a soft spot in his heart for the role of coaching. Without Smith needing to ask further questions, Malone made a statement that might as well have been a manifestation.

“I’m definitely not done coaching,” Malone said. “Coaching is in my blood. I got that from my father, and I’m excited to get back to coaching on those sidelines and teaching once again.”

His dad, of course, was the late Brendan Malone, who spent 26 years as an assistant coach and head coach in the NBA. It’s no surprise, then, that the younger Malone firmly believes that he’ll be back in the saddle someday, as he is the proud inheritor of a coaching legacy that stands the test of time.

There have been multiple TV analysts who have been tapped by NBA teams to become head coaches. However, the scenario of a head coach becoming a commentator and returning to an NBA coaching role has happened less frequently. 

Fortunately for Malone, there is a precedent from the past couple of years. After the 2023 playoffs, Doc Rivers was dismissed by the Philadelphia 76ers. He went to join ESPN as a color commentator for the 2023–24 season, but in January 2024, Rivers was hired by the Milwaukee Bucks to be their next head coach.

In other words, if Malone is dead set on becoming a head coach once again, the path has been laid out for him. The coaching ecosystem in the NBA is a volatile environment, and a coach of Malone’s caliber might just be getting a call from a team or two this season.