Following Tom Thibodeau’s exit, the New York Knicks could be eyeing Michael Malone as a top contender for head coach.
Recently dismissed by the Denver Nuggets just before the 2025 playoffs, Malone spent a decade there, securing the 2023 NBA title. A Queens native, his father, Brendan, once assisted the Knicks.
On Tuesday, The Athletic listed Malone as a potential Thibs replacement.
“The former Denver Nuggets coach might be the most obvious candidate to replace Thibodeau,” The Athletic wrote.
“He just spent a decade on the sidelines in Denver and won an NBA title there. If the Knicks are looking for someone to take them to the promised land, Malone is the only one with the bona fides already. He’s also a native New Yorker whose father, Brendan, was a former Knicks assistant.”
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“But there are obviously drawbacks. Malone was fired just three games before the playoffs a few months ago after he and general manager Calvin Booth ended up in an uncomfortable working relationship that ownership found untenable. Malone and Thibodeau have similar styles: Both believe in running their best players for a lot of minutes, both have had their disagreements with front offices and both are rugged coaches with hard-nosed mentalities.”
“Malone won at least 46 games in his final eight seasons with the Nuggets, but he also had the benefit of coaching the best player in the world, Nikola Jokić, for the large duration of that time and there’s an argument that the Nuggets should have reached more than just one finals with him.”
Malone’s championship pedigree and New York roots make him a fit, but his heavy-rotation style and front-office friction might make Malone too similar to Thibodeau and everything the Knicks are trying to move away from.
Is he the obvious choice to replace Thibs, or should the Knicks go in a completely different direction?
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