Michael Malone transitions from NBA champion coach to head coach of the UNC Tar Heels, aiming to revitalize the program. His unique experience positions him to embrace the legacy of UNC basketball while forging a new path.
Key points
Michael Malone is the new head coach of UNC Tar Heels basketball.
He has a unique background as an NBA champion coach.
Malone aims to embrace UNC's legacy while forging a new path.
His firing from the Nuggets came after a championship win.
Michael Malone's jump from the NBA to college might put him right where he belongs. The former NBA veteran coach gained knowledge at the next level, but has the style and edginess to thrive for the North Carolina Tar Heels basketball program in a new era.
You could even say this bold move by both Tar Heels officials and Malone might be viewed as the most underrated sometime in the future. No other coach has won an NBA title before sliding into a role of developing talent for a league in a two-year span. A rare but fitting opportunity to shake up the game as we know it. Malone's background aligns with the decades of success established by those UNC coaches who came before him. Now he's tasked with putting the pieces together and take the Heels back to the promised land.
At 54, the Queens, New York native who spent over a decade in the league as an assistant before advancing to become a head coach knows timing is everything. Getting fired by the Denver Nuggets after winning a championship wasn't ideal, but the rejection put him on a path to work as an analyst for ESPNâan opportunity not many coaches get right off the bat after hitting the unemployment line. However, Malone wouldn't have tapped in with Kenny Smith during his brief hiatus from coaching and likely wouldn't be at UNC. Talk about perfect timing.
Malone credits "The Jet" for helping him get in the door in Chapel Hill, which is an unlikely pairing in the world of Tar Heels traditions. Smith is one of the most famed alumni involved in the rich history of the program, while Malone is the outsider trying to embrace a family soaked in Carolina blue. One of the hardest conditions for taking the UNC job is realizing it's not another stop or gap-filler on a resume.
Q&A
What is Michael Malone's new role in college basketball?
Michael Malone has been appointed as the head coach of the UNC Tar Heels basketball program.
How did Michael Malone's NBA experience influence his coaching at UNC?
Malone's background as an NBA champion coach provides him with unique insights and strategies that he aims to apply in developing talent at UNC.
What challenges does Michael Malone face at UNC?
Malone must navigate the pressure of UNC's rich basketball history while establishing his own coaching identity and success.
Why was Michael Malone fired from the Denver Nuggets?
Malone was let go by the Nuggets despite winning a championship, which many view as a surprising decision given his success.
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Smith saw Malone as the perfect candidate for the job. This led to promoting him behind-the-scenes after Hubert Davis was fired following five seasons at UNC. While the former Nuggets coach wasn't actively looking, this didn't come by accident. Smith's access to the program and his role as an NBA insider bridged the connection to make this possible. All this happened knowing there were no UNC ties with Malone, which really speaks to how one of Carolina's family members was able to help from the outside. While analysts were talking about Billy Donovan, Dusty May and others, Smith presented the right path forward.
â(Malone) has a resume that no one else in college basketball has,â Smith said after Malone's hire was announced.
Smith not only trusts Malone to do what's best for his beloved alma mater, but also his own family. Kenny's son, Malloy, reaffirmed his commitment to UNC's 2026 basketball recruiting class shortly after Malone entered the frame in Chapel Hill. The NBA legacy and original recruit of Davis will be on the roster for Malone's initial season, leaving "The Jet" more personally invested.
Michael Malone and the pressure to perform at UNC
One former coach who understands the nature of the Tar Heels' culture is Matt Doherty. The player-turned-coach won a national championship in 1982 alongside Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, and James Worthy. He returned home to take on head coaching duties from 2000-03 and won AP Coach of the Year honors in his second season.
When UNC hired Malone, Doherty had no reservations about what he could do with the program. As for any tips about what to expect in one of the biggest positions in the basketball world, he kept it simple for the former NBA champion coach.
"Embrace history, but donât be paralyzed by it," Doherty told Sporting News. "Carolina basketball is unlike anything else in college sports. The banners in the Smith Center carry real weight. The fan base is knowledgeable, passionate, and demanding. The standard isnât making the tournament; itâs winning it. He needs to understand that going in, eyes wide open.
"Understand he is now a steward of something truly special. Acknowledge it. Celebrate it. Let the players and recruits feel the weight and the privilege of it. Lean into the Carolina family. This program has one of the most powerful networks in all sports. Former players, former coaches, and lifelong fans who bleed Carolina blue are ready to support him if he reaches out and brings them in. That family is an asset most programs can only dream about. Use it."
This era in coaching is different from when Doherty was in charge of UNC. One of the biggest curves is handling NIL, the transfer portal, and demands from players who are setting a market with zero rules and regulations. However, nothing changes with the basics of how to recruit other than it's more transactional and less about academics. Some might disagree, but that's the current state of college athletics.
Doherty admires Malone's ability as a "player's coach." Not every coach can demand greatness or bring it out of a player. It's a relationship based on trust. "Michael has a reputation as a relationship-builder and developer of talent," Doherty added. "That has to be front and center from day one. Get in rooms with these young men. Listen. Let them know you see them as people, not pieces.
"Anchor everything to three words: play hard, play smart, play together. Those are the core values Dean Smith built this program on, and they are as relevant today as they were decades ago. They are not a slogan; they are a standard. Every decision Michael makes, every place he recruits, every assistant he hires should be measured against those three principles. When the culture is built on values that are simple and that powerful, everyone in the program knows exactly what is expected."
The 'UNC way' is changing in front of our eyes
Malone's rich NBA background with the right temperament for the current college game is an advantage. How do college administrators keep up with the ever-changing landscape when it's evolving to match the pro model? Hire those who've been successful at the next level and set the new industry standard.
This wasn't just UNC basketball reaching out to Malone and securing his immediate future; the same pattern started with UNC football bringing Bill Belichick into Chapel Hill to lead. There is no other college campus in America where you'll find a true pro-style approach like the one at North Carolina. The modern, professional approach to player development and team building will be more commonplace over the next five years.
For Bubba Cunningham and UNC's athletic staff, it's all about trusting the process while keeping the core values intact. There are going to be sweeping changes as NIL and how players are paid become solidified for everyone involved. It's a necessary step to create the best, most competitive environment.
Doherty's exit from coaching came just before the NIL era, but he agrees with the basis of the players needing to be a stakeholder.
"NIL was necessary," Doherty said. "College athletes were the only ones not benefiting from their own name, image, and likeness, while everyone around them was. That needed to change. But what we have now has moved well beyond the original intent. It has become a free agency market without the structure, rules, or guardrails that make professional free agency work. There is no salary cap. There is no collective bargaining agreement. There is no framework that protects the integrity of the team concept. That is a problem."
Why would Malone want to jump into college with the landscape being unregulated?
Malone will have the biggest impact on tackling the financial literacy and is part of being a college basketball coach. As an NBA-style coach, connecting with teenagers who are looking to play in the league as soon as possible is key. These players are one-and-done more often these days, with no authoritative voice to help structure the early stages of their career. Imagine how the NBA was in the 90s with players going broke because they had no understanding of how to build a financial future. Malone's experience can help from history being repeated in the NIL era before any NBA opportunity.
When asked about the "pay-for-play" model and players returning for the money, Doherty's response was interesting and spot on. This comes after a few players, most notably Kansas center Flory Bidunga, transferred to Louisville for a reported $5 million payday, which is double what he was projected to make in the NBA as a late first-round pick.
"This is where it gets complicated, and I want to be honest about it. I understand why a player would return to school if the NIL money exceeds what he would make in his first NBA contract. That is a rational financial decision, and I do not fault the individual player for making it. But when financial return becomes the primary driver of whether a young man stays in school or enters the draft, we have fundamentally changed what college basketball is supposed to be.
"The development of the player, the team experience, the degree, the relationships built over four yearsâthose things matter. When money becomes the loudest voice in the room, everything else gets drowned out. Coaches are now competing in the marketplace as much as they are building programs. That is a significant shift, and I am not sure whether we have fully reckoned with what it means for the long-term health of the game."
One of the top questions Doherty gets asked often these days is, would he return to coaching? Given the lack of experienced leaders in college basketball, he would be able to make an impact right away. But those days are past him, even though it will forever be in his blood.
"I miss the game. It is my drug, and right now I am in rehab," Doherty admitted while laughing it off. "There is nothing quite like the competition, the locker room, the preparation, and the feeling of going to war with your guys. I miss it most in March. When the tournament tips off and the bracket comes alive, I feel it. That pull is real. But April and May? I do not miss it at all. That tells you something.
"The truth is, I am still coaching. Every single day. I work with CEOs and C-suite executives who are navigating high-stakes environments, leading teams, managing adversity, and trying to build winning cultures. The parallels to basketball are remarkable. I get the same fulfillment from helping a leader have a breakthrough that I got from watching a player reach his potential.
"The difference is I get that fulfillment without the headaches that come with the current state of college basketball. I am at peace with where I am. I believe I am exactly where God wants me to be. The game gave me everything, and now I get to take what it taught me and pour it into a different arena. That is not a consolation prize. That is a calling."
Needless to say, Doherty will be watching Malone's progress intently and rooting for his success from the sidelines. UNC takes a step with an outsider for the first time in nearly a half-century. This is where new family ties are made under the banners hanging in the Dean Dome.
