UNC has announced the hiring of Michael Malone as head basketball coach

UNC has announced the hiring of new men's basketball coach Michael Malone.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Michael Malone, a 24-year NBA coaching veteran who led the Denver Nuggets to the 2023 World Series, is the next head men's basketball coach at the University of North Carolina.

"Michael was the first coach we engaged as part of the search process because of his reputation as a selfless coach and innovator who brings an incredible ability to connect with players and get the best out of those he mentors," said executive director of athletics Steve Newmark, who will be the director of Carolina July.is unique and special - and we have appointed the right leader to continue our championship tradition."

Malone was recommended by a search committee led by Newmark and Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham.The committee also included Board Chairman Malcolm Turner, Tar Heel legend Antawn Jamison and Rams Club Board Vice Chairman Vaughn Moore.Chad Chatlos of Turnkey ZRG Partners also assisted in the search.On Tuesday, the board approved the terms of the contract.

"Carolina is one of the most historic programs in college basketball and I am honored to serve as head coach of the Tar Heels," Malone said.Thank you to Chancellor Roberts, Steve, Trabsmitt and the Board of Directors.I'm proud to be a heel and can't wait to get started."

Malone will be welcomed to Chapel Hill today at 6:00 pm at the Smith Center press conference, which will be open to the public and fans will enter the stadium at Gate A. Doors will open to the public at 5:00 pm.

"This is a critical time for Carolina basketball and our university, and it calls on all of us to accept our collective responsibility to shape its future," said Chancellor Lee H."He has learned from some of the most respected coaching minds in the game and understands what it takes to develop players, lead a team and sustain excellence over time," Roberts said.

Malone was an NBA head coach for 12 seasons, including 10 (2015–25) with the Denver Nuggets, whom he led to the 2023 NBA World Championship and three 50-win seasons.He is the winningest coach in Nuggets history with 471 wins.

Over the past seven seasons, Denver has averaged 50.3 wins, including a franchise-record 57 in 2023-24, 54 in 2018-19 and 53 in 2022-23.

Malone 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 compiled five of the 10 winningest seasons in Nuggets history and his 44 postseason victories are 20 more than any other Denver coach.

"On behalf of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, it is a great honor to welcome Michael Malone as the next coach of Carolina Basketball," said UNC Board of Trustees Chairman Malcolm Turner."Few programs in college athletics carry the legacy, expectations and enduring spirit of Carolina. That tradition – built on excellence, selflessness, discipline and integrity – requires leadership of the highest caliber. Coach Malone embodies these qualities.

A native of Queens, New York, he spent 24 years in the NBA.In addition to twelve seasons as a head coach, Malone also 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 coached three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić in Denver and all-time NBA scoring leader LeBron James while an assistant in Cleveland.His 2023 NBA championship team featured Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Other notable players he has coached in the NBA include Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, and Tar Heel alumni Jamison, Danny Green, and Harrison Barnes.

"Michael has proven that he knows how to build strong, successful teams that can consistently compete in the postseason and win championships — and he knows how to make everyone on the floor better," Cunningham said.

He has also worked with some of the NBA's top coaches, including Jeff Van Gundy, Lenny Wilkens, Mike Brown, Monty Williams and Mark 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 scoring in 2008–09 and 2009–10.

He has twice finished in the top five in NBA Coach of the Year voting, third in 2019 and fifth in 2023.

Under his leadership, Denver won at least one playoff series five times and nine times overall (the Nuggets had won five series in the previous 32 seasons).

Before joining the New York Knicks in 2001, Malone spent seven seasons in the college coaching ranks, serving as an assistant at Oakland University under Greg Kampe and two seasons at Providence and Virginia under Pete Gillen, as well as two seasons at Manhattan College.

His father, Brendan Malone, coached nearly 30 seasons in the NBA.

Malone attended Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey.He played point guard at Loyola (Md.), where he graduated in 1994 and was recently inducted into the Greyhounds Athletic Hall of Fame.

He and his wife, Jocelyn, have two daughters, Caitlin and Bridget, the latter a freshman at UNC, where she is a member of the volleyball team.