Mike Malone was in rare form throughout the Nuggets’ NBA championship parade in downtown Denver on Thursday.
But even after recovering from all the champagne he consumed and the confetti-filled streets in the city, the Nuggets coach continued his wave of celebration on Tuesday by getting a tattoo of the team’s old mascot, Maxie the Miner, clutching the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
It took Denver 47 years to win its first NBA title. Even more, Malone earned his first NBA championship as a head coach after three decades of coaching.
After spending his first eight years as an assistant in the high school and collegiate ranks, he served as an assistant for the Knicks (2001 to ’05), Cavaliers (’05 to ’10), Hornets (’10 to ’11) and Warriors (’11 to ’13) before getting his first head coaching gig with the Kings in ’13. However, Malone was fired in ’14 after two seasons in Sacramento before landing with the Nuggets in June ’15.
Malone’s guiding the Nuggets to an NBA title did not come without challenges. In his first three seasons, Denver failed to make playoffs, and saw multiple postseason failures before the ultimate success.
Mannix: Denver’s NBA Title? It Was All Part of the Journey.
Mike Malone really got a championship tattoo 😂🔥
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 21, 2023
Legend. 🙌
(via monocle_mike222/IG) pic.twitter.com/3rLMEVf4cx
Denver solidified itself as a legitimate playoff contender but struggled to reach the apex of the NBA postseason, suffering two departures in the Western Conference semifinals, a loss in the Western Conference finals in the Bubble and last year’s first round exit.
However, after achieving the league’s pinnacle with star center Nikola Jokić and a promising supporting cast around the two-time MVP, Malone is making sure to enjoy it his way.
