Longtime NBA coach Brendan Malone has died on the age of 81, the Denver Nuggets introduced on Tuesday.
“It’s with super unhappiness that we share the passing of longtime NBA coach Brendan Malone, who holds a particular place amongst the group and will probably be a Denver Nugget without end,” the crew mentioned in an announcement. “Coach Brendan Malone was an ideal man who left behind an ideal legacy on this planet of basketball, however he will probably be remembered much more for the wonderful husband, father, son and grandfather that he was and the profound influence he had on the chums, household, and colleagues who had been fortunate sufficient to know him. Our ideas are with the complete Malone household and all of Brendan’s family members who’re feeling this loss at this time.”
Malone was the daddy of present Nuggets head coach Michael Malone.
Earlier than arriving within the NBA, Malone was an assistant at Fordham, Yale and Syracuse earlier than taking the top teaching function at Rhode Island in 1984. After two seasons with the Rams, Malone served an assistant for 2 seasons with the New York Knicks, working below Hubie Brown, Bob Hill, and Rick Pitino.
Malone left New York to affix Chuck Daly’s workers in Detroit the place he helped the Pistons win back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. It was throughout his time in Detroit that Malone helped develop the “Jordan Guidelines” as a solution to cease Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan.
The Pistons and Bulls would meet in three consecutive postseasons, with Detroit advancing after the primary two conferences en path to the NBA championship and Jordan and Chicago taking their 1991 collection in a sweep on their solution to the primary of three titles in a row.
In 1995 Malone was named the primary coach within the historical past of the enlargement Toronto Raptors. He spent one season there earlier than serving as an assistant with the Knicks, Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Orlando Magic. His final time as a head coach was on an interim foundation in 2005 with Cleveland for 18 video games following the firing of Paul Silas.
Over Malone’s 27 seasons teaching within the NBA, groups that he was part of made the playoffs 20 occasions with a mixed 1,165-1,001 file. These groups reached seven Convention Finals, 4 NBA Finals, and received two NBA championships.
Malone and his son, Michael, are the one father-son teaching duo to have received NBA titles. Michael led the Nuggets to the 2023 NBA title with a five-game collection win over the Miami Warmth.
This previous July the Nationwide Basketball Coaches Affiliation named Malone the 2023 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Influence Award.