Recent Nuggets Coach Michael Malone Makes Next Career Decision

After being fired by the Nuggets, Malone began appearing as an NBA analyst on ESPN during the playoffs, and now he is taking that full next step. After some speculation of him returning to the NBA scene this offseason, Malone is becoming a full-time analyst.

On Wednesday, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro announced that Malone will be joining "NBA Countdown" as a full-time analyst for the 2025-26 season.

“We just brought Mike Malone in and he will join that team," Pitaro said at Front Office Sports' Tuned In Summit (via Awful Announcing).

Malone was a surprisingly great analyst during his short tenure with ESPN during the 2025 NBA playoffs. Of course, he knows the game as well as anybody else in the company, but sometimes coaches have trouble adjusting to a broadcast setting. Luckily for Malone, he looked as comfortable as ever.

However, it will be a weird feeling for Nuggets fans to see him on television rather than on the bench.

Malone's impact in Denver

It was so shocking when Malone was fired because of how much of an impact he had on the Nuggets franchise. From when he was hired in the 2015-16 season, Malone turned the franchise around. By his third season in Denver, Malone won 46 games, and he would not win any fewer than that in each of the following seven years.

Of course, in 2023, Malone helped take the Nuggets to their first championship in franchise history, but the front office must have felt that he would not be able to get them back to that point. Malone did a fantastic job with Nikola Jokic, helping the Serbian big man become the player he is today.

The Nuggets might have something special with David Adelman, but Malone will forever be a legend in Denver for what he did for this franchise. Time will tell if he chooses to get back in the coaching scene after the 2025-26 season.