University of North Carolina Athletics
Staff Directory
Michael Malone
- Title:
- Head Coach
Michael Malone, an NBA and college coaching veteran of 30-plus years, was named the University of North Carolina’s 21st men's basketball head coach on April 7, 2026.
Malone led the Denver Nuggets to an NBA championship in 2023. He was an NBA head coach for 12 seasons, including 10 (2015-25) in Denver, where he set franchise records with 471 regular-season and 44 postseason wins and brought the city its first NBA title.
Denver averaged 50.3 wins over his last seven seasons, including a franchise record-tying 57 in 2023-24, 54 in 2018-19 and 53 in 2022-23.
He won a total of 510 regular-season games combining two seasons as head coach of the Sacramento Kings and 10 years in Denver. His teams produced five of the 10-winningest seasons in Nuggets’ history and his 44 postseason wins are 20 more than any other Denver coach.
A native of Queens, N.Y., he spent 24 years in the NBA. In addition to a dozen seasons as a head coach, Malone spent 12 years as an assistant with the New York Knicks (2001-05), Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10), New Orleans Hornets (2010-11) and Golden State Warriors (2011-13). He was the lead assistant at both New Orleans under Monty Williams and Golden State under Mark Jackson.
He coached three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic in Denver and all-time scoring leader LeBron James while an assistant in Cleveland. His 2023 NBA championship team featured Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Jokic averaged 23.0 points, 11.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists and was a seven-time all-star in 10 seasons playing for Malone. He made first-team All-NBA five times and second-team twice.
Among other notable players Malone coached in the NBA include Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Chris Paul. In addition to Barnes, he coached former Tar Heels Danny Green, Antawn Jamison and Jawad Williams. He coached 39 international players who represented 25 different nations.
He also worked with some of the top coaches in the NBA, including Jeff Van Gundy, Lenny Wilkens, Mike Brown, Williams and Jackson.
While in Cleveland, the Cavaliers played in the 2007 NBA Finals, set a franchise record with 67 wins in 2008-09 and led the league in wins in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
He finished in the top five in NBA Coach-of-the-Year voting twice, finishing third in 2019 and fifth in 2023. Malone was head coach in the 2019 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte and 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Utah.
Denver won at least one playoff series five times and nine total under his leadership (the Nuggets had won five series in the previous 32 seasons).
In 2023, the Nuggets went 16-4 in the postseason, defeating Minnesota in five games, Phoenix in six, swept the Lakers and won the NBA championship with a 4-1 series win over the Miami Heat. Jokic averaged a triple double in the postseason and combined with Murray to become the first duo in NBA history to have 30-point triple-doubles in a Finals game. The Nuggets’ offensive rating in the postseason was 119.5, the second-highest by an NBA champion this century. During the regular season, Denver was the only team in the NBA to shoot 50% from the floor (.504) and was second in the league in assists per game (28.9).
Under Malone, the Nuggets finished in the top 10 in the NBA in field goal percentage eight times, leading the league in 2022-23 and 2024-25 and finishing in the top five in each of his final six seasons (fourth-fourth-second-first-fourth-first). They also led the NBA in effective field goal shooting in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and were top 10 each year from 2020-25.
The Nuggets led the NBA in assists in 2024-25 and were in the top-five in assists in eight of his last nine seasons (second-fifth-second-fourth-sixth-third-second-third-first).
Denver also was top 10 in the NBA in rebounding six times, including second in 2016-17 and seventh and fourth the last two years.
The Nuggets were top-seven in the NBA in offensive efficiency in each of the last nine years, averaging the fifth-best offensive rating from 2017-25, and top 10 in net rating in five of the last seven seasons.
Before joining the New York Knicks in 2001, Malone spent seven seasons in the college coaching ranks, working at Oakland University under Greg Kampe, at Providence and Virginia under Pete Gillen, and Manhattan College, where he was the lead assistant under Bobby Gonzalez for two seasons.
His father, Brendan Malone, coached nearly 30 seasons in the NBA. He was an assistant coach in Detroit with head coach Chuck Daly when the Pistons won NBA titles in 1989 and 1990.
Malone was an assistant coach for the Canadian Men’s Senior National Team for three years, helping Canada clinch a berth in the 2010 World Championships with a top-four finish in the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship.
He participated three times in the NBA’s “Basketball Without Borders.” He coached in global outreach camps in Argentina, Puerto Rico and Africa and served as an assistant coach for Team Africa in the NBA Africa Game in 2017.
Malone attended Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey, where he played for Coach Bob Farrell, Worcester Academy in Massachusetts for Tom Blackburn and Loyola (Md)., where he played point guard and graduated in 1994.
He and his wife, Jocelyn, have two daughters, Caitlin and Bridget, who is a sophomore at UNC, where she plays on the volleyball team.
Select List of NBA Players Coached By Michael Malone
New York Knicks (2001-05)
Jamal Crawford, Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, Mark Jackson, Stephon Marbury, Dikembe Mutombo, Malik Rose, Latrell Sprewell, Kurt Thomas, Tim Thomas, Charlie Ward
Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10)
Drew Gooden, Danny Green, Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Shaquille O’Neal, Wally Szczerbiak, Anderson Varejão, Ben Wallace, Delonte West, Jawad Williams, Mo Williams
New Orleans Hornets (2010-11)
Trevor Ariza, Emeka Okafor, Chris Paul, Peja Stojakovic, David West
Golden State Warriors (2011-13)
Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Steph Curry, Monte Ellis, Draymond Green, Richard Jefferson, David Lee, Klay Thompson
Sacramento Kings (2013-15)
DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Isaiah Thomas
Denver Nuggets (2015-25)
Will Barton, Malik Beasley, Christian Braun, Bruce Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green, Gary Harris, Reggie Jackson, Nikola Jokic, DeAndre Jordan, Paul Milsap, Jamal Murray, Jameer Nelson, Mason Plumlee, Michael Porter Jr., Russell Westbrook
Malone led the Denver Nuggets to an NBA championship in 2023. He was an NBA head coach for 12 seasons, including 10 (2015-25) in Denver, where he set franchise records with 471 regular-season and 44 postseason wins and brought the city its first NBA title.
Denver averaged 50.3 wins over his last seven seasons, including a franchise record-tying 57 in 2023-24, 54 in 2018-19 and 53 in 2022-23.
He won a total of 510 regular-season games combining two seasons as head coach of the Sacramento Kings and 10 years in Denver. His teams produced five of the 10-winningest seasons in Nuggets’ history and his 44 postseason wins are 20 more than any other Denver coach.
A native of Queens, N.Y., he spent 24 years in the NBA. In addition to a dozen seasons as a head coach, Malone spent 12 years as an assistant with the New York Knicks (2001-05), Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10), New Orleans Hornets (2010-11) and Golden State Warriors (2011-13). He was the lead assistant at both New Orleans under Monty Williams and Golden State under Mark Jackson.
He coached three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic in Denver and all-time scoring leader LeBron James while an assistant in Cleveland. His 2023 NBA championship team featured Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Jokic averaged 23.0 points, 11.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists and was a seven-time all-star in 10 seasons playing for Malone. He made first-team All-NBA five times and second-team twice.
Among other notable players Malone coached in the NBA include Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Chris Paul. In addition to Barnes, he coached former Tar Heels Danny Green, Antawn Jamison and Jawad Williams. He coached 39 international players who represented 25 different nations.
He also worked with some of the top coaches in the NBA, including Jeff Van Gundy, Lenny Wilkens, Mike Brown, Williams and Jackson.
While in Cleveland, the Cavaliers played in the 2007 NBA Finals, set a franchise record with 67 wins in 2008-09 and led the league in wins in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
He finished in the top five in NBA Coach-of-the-Year voting twice, finishing third in 2019 and fifth in 2023. Malone was head coach in the 2019 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte and 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Utah.
Denver won at least one playoff series five times and nine total under his leadership (the Nuggets had won five series in the previous 32 seasons).
In 2023, the Nuggets went 16-4 in the postseason, defeating Minnesota in five games, Phoenix in six, swept the Lakers and won the NBA championship with a 4-1 series win over the Miami Heat. Jokic averaged a triple double in the postseason and combined with Murray to become the first duo in NBA history to have 30-point triple-doubles in a Finals game. The Nuggets’ offensive rating in the postseason was 119.5, the second-highest by an NBA champion this century. During the regular season, Denver was the only team in the NBA to shoot 50% from the floor (.504) and was second in the league in assists per game (28.9).
Under Malone, the Nuggets finished in the top 10 in the NBA in field goal percentage eight times, leading the league in 2022-23 and 2024-25 and finishing in the top five in each of his final six seasons (fourth-fourth-second-first-fourth-first). They also led the NBA in effective field goal shooting in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and were top 10 each year from 2020-25.
The Nuggets led the NBA in assists in 2024-25 and were in the top-five in assists in eight of his last nine seasons (second-fifth-second-fourth-sixth-third-second-third-first).
Denver also was top 10 in the NBA in rebounding six times, including second in 2016-17 and seventh and fourth the last two years.
The Nuggets were top-seven in the NBA in offensive efficiency in each of the last nine years, averaging the fifth-best offensive rating from 2017-25, and top 10 in net rating in five of the last seven seasons.
Before joining the New York Knicks in 2001, Malone spent seven seasons in the college coaching ranks, working at Oakland University under Greg Kampe, at Providence and Virginia under Pete Gillen, and Manhattan College, where he was the lead assistant under Bobby Gonzalez for two seasons.
His father, Brendan Malone, coached nearly 30 seasons in the NBA. He was an assistant coach in Detroit with head coach Chuck Daly when the Pistons won NBA titles in 1989 and 1990.
Malone was an assistant coach for the Canadian Men’s Senior National Team for three years, helping Canada clinch a berth in the 2010 World Championships with a top-four finish in the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship.
He participated three times in the NBA’s “Basketball Without Borders.” He coached in global outreach camps in Argentina, Puerto Rico and Africa and served as an assistant coach for Team Africa in the NBA Africa Game in 2017.
Malone attended Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey, where he played for Coach Bob Farrell, Worcester Academy in Massachusetts for Tom Blackburn and Loyola (Md)., where he played point guard and graduated in 1994.
He and his wife, Jocelyn, have two daughters, Caitlin and Bridget, who is a sophomore at UNC, where she plays on the volleyball team.
Select List of NBA Players Coached By Michael Malone
New York Knicks (2001-05)
Jamal Crawford, Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, Mark Jackson, Stephon Marbury, Dikembe Mutombo, Malik Rose, Latrell Sprewell, Kurt Thomas, Tim Thomas, Charlie Ward
Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10)
Drew Gooden, Danny Green, Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Shaquille O’Neal, Wally Szczerbiak, Anderson Varejão, Ben Wallace, Delonte West, Jawad Williams, Mo Williams
New Orleans Hornets (2010-11)
Trevor Ariza, Emeka Okafor, Chris Paul, Peja Stojakovic, David West
Golden State Warriors (2011-13)
Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Steph Curry, Monte Ellis, Draymond Green, Richard Jefferson, David Lee, Klay Thompson
Sacramento Kings (2013-15)
DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Isaiah Thomas
Denver Nuggets (2015-25)
Will Barton, Malik Beasley, Christian Braun, Bruce Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green, Gary Harris, Reggie Jackson, Nikola Jokic, DeAndre Jordan, Paul Milsap, Jamal Murray, Jameer Nelson, Mason Plumlee, Michael Porter Jr., Russell Westbrook
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