When ESPN announced that the worldwide leader was bringing ex-Nuggets head coach Michael Malone on to join their broadcast for the Western Conference Semifinals, no Nuggets fan truly knew what to expect. Would Malone go to bat for his former team? Would he take a shot at Minnesota or Oklahoma City? Would he take a shot at Josh Kroenke and the Nuggets ownership?
It turns out that all of those questions were wrong, as Malone ended up taking a subtle shot at Nikola Jokic, the three-time MVP who arguably carried Malone and Denver to a championship in 2023.
Michael Malone:
“Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showed why he’s the MVP.” 😬
(h/t @F0RGIAT0)pic.twitter.com/TGZjVhlv6A
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 21, 2025
Nuggets Nation was taken aback by the remark from their longtime head coach, who just recently went on a tangent about how Jokic should be the MVP over Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander if it weren’t for voter fatigue.
He said this just 2 months ago lmao pic.twitter.com/k6AEY80LcJ https://t.co/13CQkcZTel
— 🌨️ (@NotLikeRuss) May 21, 2025
Another ex-Nuggets coach decided to chime in on the debate after Malone’s comments, as George Karl got in on the action.
Jokic was the MVP again this season and it wasn’t that close.
But I guess I’m the only former Nuggets coach who knows that.
— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) May 21, 2025
Karl, 74, coached the Nuggets for nine years from 2004 to 2013. He led Denver to the Western Conference Finals in 2009, which was highlighted by a big road win in Game 2 even though the team ended up falling short. The team finished in either first or second place in the Northwest Division in all nine years, but only made it past the first round once in ’09.
The man who coached Carmelo Anthony throughout the young stages of his career has been active on X over recent years, always chiming in to give some perspective on whatever drama is happening in the NBA. He’s been around professional basketball since 1973 when he was a rookie on the San Antonio Spurs in the ABA, so he knows a thing or two about the sport.
For the MVP conversation, the league finally announced that the winner will be revealed on Wednesday evening before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. While the former Nuggets head coaches disagree, it seems that Gilgeous-Alexander is poised to win his first award, and that Jokic will fall short of bringing it back to the Mile High City for the fourth time in five years.
