The Denver Nuggets announced the passing of longtime basketball coach Brendan Malone at the age of 81 on Tuesday. Malone was a sideline staple throughout the NBA for three decades and his professional journey began with the New York Knicks as an assistant on Hubie Brown's staff in 1986, the first of three terms at Madison Square Garden.
"Coach Brendan Malone was a great man who left behind a great legacy in the world of basketball," the statement reads in part. "But he will be remembered even more for the amazing husband, father, son, and grandfather that he was and the profound impact he had on the friends, family, and colleagues who were lucky enough to know him."
"Our thoughts are with the entire Malone family and all of Brendan’s loved ones who are feeling this loss today.”
Though Malone had never been with the Nuggets in an official capacity, he was close with the team after his son Mike took over the head coaching reigns in 2015. Mike, himself a former Knicks assistant (2001-05), guided the Nuggets to the most recent NBA championship over the summer.
The elder Malone was born in Queens in 1942 and attended Rice High School in Harlem. After college at Iona, Malone built an impressive amateur coaching resume on the Catholic Youth Organization and high school levels. He'd eventually enter the collegiate ranks, landing assistant coaching jobs at Fordham, Yale, and Syracuse before taking the top spot at Rhode Island in 1984.
After two years with the Rams, Malone earned a call from the Association, joining the Knicks and serving under Brown, Bob Hill, and Rick Pitino. Under Malone's partial watch, the Knicks ended a three-year playoff drought in 1987-88 and Mark Jackson won that season's Rookie of the Year Award.
From an NBA coaching standpoint, Malone is perhaps best known for serving on the Detroit Pistons' staff during the heyday of their "Bad Boys" groups. Working under Chuck Daly, Malone helped create the infamous "Jordan Rules" meant to contain then-budding superstar Michael Jordan. Though Jordan's eventual rise proved inevitable, Malone's work helped delay it as long as possible, as the Pistons disposed of his Chicago Bulls in three consecutive NBA Finals appearances (1988-90). The latter two, including a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1989, yielded championship rings for Malone, who stayed in Detroit until 1995.
Malone was then hired to serve as the original head coach of the Toronto Raptors' expansion franchise and returned to the Knicks for a second term (1996-2000) as an assistant after going 21-61 in that debut year. Working under Jeff Van Gundy, Malone was a part of the Knicks' run to the 1999 NBA Finals before moving on to the Indiana Pacers. One more go-around with the Knicks awaited, as he was part of the assistants' group during the early parts of 2003-04 alongside Mike.
Another NBA head coaching spot awaited Malone in Cleveland, as he was the interim coach of the Cavaliers after the firing of Paul Silas in 2005. Malone wrapped his NBA career with assistant gigs in Orlando (2007-12) and Detroit (2014-16), both under Van Gundy's brother Stan.
For his lasting efforts in the NBA, Malone was bestowed the Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award, which goes to "an assistant coach (current or inactive) who has had a storied career as an NBA Assistant Coach and has made a consistent substantial impact while on the bench."
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