Mike Malone is one of four coaches to be on the same NBA bench for more than five years. Arrived at the head of the Nuggets in June 2015, he is thus preceded only by Gregg Popovich (December 1996), Erik Spoelstra (April 2008) and Steve Kerr (May 2004). After Denver’s accession to the Finals, he thus welcomed this stability.
“Life is made up of moments, and you have to take advantage of them” explains the coach. “It’s important, as you said, to ask how we got here. I was kissing Josh and Stan Kroenke (the owners) because we all know that in this business, patience is not something obvious. »
Mike Malone thus thinks back to his third season on the Nuggets bench, in 2017/18, which ended with 46 wins for 36 losses but above all a setback in the last game of the regular season against Wolves (by Jimmy Butler…), who had deprived the club of the playoffs.
“They showed patience after this third year, these 46 victories and these playoffs just missed. They saw something in Nikola, in Jamal, in me, and they allowed it to happen. It’s very rare in this environment.
In office for eight years in Colorado, Mike Malone has grown with his players and his team, enduring seasons without playoffs, setbacks and of course injuries.
“We talk about Nikola, I always think about it and I laugh because at the first Summer League in Vegas he weighed 140 kilos, he was out of shape… and he became a pretty good player” amuses the former technician of the Kings. “Nobody, and if someone tells you otherwise, it’s because they’re talking nonsense, but nobody could have imagined that he would become MVP twice, that he would break Wilt Chamberlain’s records every both days. It’s a testament to his dedication to his craft, his physical fitness, and the fact that he understood that to fully realize his potential, he needed to work harder. And that’s what he did. »
“Patience is not something we talk about in the NBA or in pro sports. We are a perfect example of the results that patience can have”
“What I like the most about Nikola, apart from his game and his consistency, is that he has never changed. Success, money, fame never changed this guy. It’s a rarity in this business, as we all know. »
Indeed, it is increasingly rare in the NBA to let a group and its coach mature for so long. And for Mike Malone, it is the key to the success of his current team.
“I remember when Tim (Connelly, the club’s former sporting boss, now at Wolves) called me and said, ‘Hey, we can swap Jamal for this guy. It was probably three or four years ago – and he was a top player” recently explained the coach. “I told him ‘No’. ‘Let’s not rush. We have a group of patient owners. Let’s take our time and build this project the right way. A bigger name is not always better’. There are countless different examples (like this one). Josh (Kroenke) said to me after our loss to Minnesota (in the last regular season game in 2018): ‘I’m so excited about our two young players – Jamal and Nikola were great in that 82nd game’ . It was play-in before play-in, and Josh’s reaction was, ‘Wow, we’re going to be really good in a few years. The ability of the owners to be patient and not overreact was key.”
And they are now reaping the rewards.
“Patience is not something we talk about in the NBA or in pro sports” concludes Mike Malone. “We are a perfect example of the results that patience can have. ‘Let’s just keep letting things grow and marinate and mature, and then we can see what we really have.’ We are seeing it. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Nikola Jokic | 69 | 33.7 | 63.2 | 38.3 | 82.2 | 2.4 | 9.4 | 11.8 | 9.8 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 24.5 |
| Jamal Murray | 65 | 32.8 | 45.4 | 39.8 | 83.3 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 6.2 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 20.0 |
| Michael Porter, Jr. | 62 | 29.0 | 48.7 | 41.4 | 80.0 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 17.4 |
| Aaron Gordon | 68 | 30.2 | 56.4 | 34.7 | 60.8 | 2.4 | 4.1 | 6.6 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 16.3 |
| Bones Hyland | 42 | 19.5 | 39.9 | 37.8 | 86.6 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 12.1 |
| Bruce Brown, Jr. | 80 | 28.5 | 48.3 | 35.8 | 75.8 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 11.5 |
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | 76 | 31.3 | 46.2 | 42.3 | 82.4 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 10.8 |
| Reggie Jackson | 16 | 19.9 | 38.3 | 27.9 | 83.3 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 7.9 |
| Jeff Green | 56 | 19.5 | 48.8 | 28.8 | 74.4 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 7.8 |
| Zeke Nnaji | 53 | 13.7 | 56.1 | 26.2 | 64.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 5.2 |
| Deandre Jordan | 39 | 15.0 | 76.5 | 100.0 | 45.8 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 5.2 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 5.1 |
| Vlatko Cancar | 60 | 14.8 | 47.6 | 37.4 | 92.7 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 5.0 |
| Christian Brown | 76 | 15.5 | 49.5 | 35.4 | 62.5 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 4.7 |
| Thomas Bryant | 18 | 11.3 | 48.5 | 44.4 | 72.2 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 4.6 |
| peyton watson | 23 | 8.1 | 49.2 | 42.9 | 55.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 3.3 |
| Ish Smith | 43 | 9.3 | 39.7 | 16.7 | 50.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 2.5 |
| davon reed | 35 | 9.0 | 31.3 | 36.4 | 75.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.3 |
| Jack White | 17 | 3.9 | 42.1 | 33.3 | 66.7 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.2 |
