The University of North Carolina reportedly found its replacement for Hubert Davis, and it\u2019s a surprising name. Former Denver Nuggets head coach \u2014 and NBA championship winner \u2014 Michael Malone will reportedly be hired to run the program following Davis\u2019 firing, per ESPN.<\/p>\n
Malone, 54, has experience as a college assistant, but has never been a head coach at a university.<\/p>\n
The majority of Malone\u2019s head-coaching experience came in the NBA, where \u2014 after many years as an assistant \u2014 he finally was elevated into the main role with the Sacramento Kings.<\/p>\n
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Malone spent one-and-a-half seasons with the team, going 39-67 before he was fired.<\/p>\n
He landed on his feet quickly, joining the Nuggets. After two straight years of sub-.500 basketball, Malone turned things around in Denver, and made the Nuggets perennial contenders in the West.<\/p>\n
After a 46-36 performance during the 2017-18 NBA season that left the team just out of the playoffs, Malone led Denver to six-straight playoff appearances. The team lost in the first round just once in those six trips, often making deep runs in the postseason.<\/p>\n
Malone\u2019s time with the Nuggets reached its apex during the 2022-23 NBA season, when he led the franchise to its first-ever title. The Nuggets \u2014 led by Nikola Joki\u0107 \u2014 defeated the Miami Heat in five games to win it all.<\/p>\n
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But that didn\u2019t result in much job security for Malone. The Nuggets made the playoffs against the following season, though lost in the semifinals to the Minnesota Timberwolves. With the team heading for another postseason appearance during the 2024-25 NBA season, however, the Nuggets shocked the NBA world by firing Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with just three games left in the regular season<\/a>.<\/p>\n Assistant David Adelman took over and led the Nuggets back to the semifinals, where they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Adelman has the Nuggets in strong playoff position again during the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Despite his excellent run with the Nuggets, Malone failed to get an NBA head-coaching job in the offseason. He instead opted to take the broadcasting route, appearing on ESPN during the 2024-25 NBA playoffs<\/a> and then signing on to join the network for \u201cNBA Countdown\u201d<\/a> after he wasn\u2019t hired by a team over the offseason.<\/p>\n At UNC, Malone will technically have a new \u2014 but also familiar experience. Following his playing career at Loyola, Malone first was a high-school basketball assistant before eventually moving to the college level to work as an assistant at Oakland, Providence and Manhattan before finally moving to the NBA to be an assistant with the New York Knicks. UNC will be his first-ever shot to be a head coach of a college program.<\/p>\n And expectations will be high. Following a promising first season from Davis, UNC has experienced disappointment and premature exits over the past four seasons<\/a>. The most recent one, a first-round loss to No. 11 seed VCU, resulted in Davis\u2019 firing.<\/p>\n By all accounts, UNC ran a comprehensive search to bring in a new coach to elevate the program back to its championship standards. But some of the biggest names thought to be in consideration \u2014 Arizona\u2019s Tommy Lloyd, Alabama\u2019s Nate Oats, Florida\u2019s Todd Golden and others \u2014 opted to remain in their current roles, spurning UNC.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n