2023 NBA champions Denver Nuggets have parted ways with head coach, Michael Malone, after 10 years in charge of the franchise in a decision announced on Tuesday, with General Manager, Calvin Booth, also leaving as his contract will not be renewed.
Nuggets CEO Josh Kroenke, who is also an executive of Premier League club, Arsenal, said the decision to fire Malone was made to give the team the best chance of winning the 2025 NBA Championship.
“While the timing of this decision is unfortunate, as Coach Malone helped build the foundation of our now championship-level program, it is a necessary step to allow us to compete at the highest level right now,” Kroenke said in a statement.
David Adelman will become the coach for the remainder of the ongoing campaign, with just three regular season games remaining and with the Nuggets set to clinch a play-off berth.
Malone took the Nuggets to the play-offs for six years in a row, winning the NBA Championship in 2023. He led them to the Western Conference semi-finals last year, where they lost out to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Nuggets are currently fourth in the Western Conference standings with a 47-32 record this season, though four consecutive defeats have left the franchise in a battle to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA play-offs.