Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James gave Michael Malone and the Denver Nuggets his stamp of approval.
Whether you’re a player, coach, analyst or really anyone around the game of basketball, a compliment from LeBron James sends a strong message because he’s still widely regarded as the best player in the league and has a resume that stacks up with the best of the best.
On Thursday, LeBron — discussing the Denver Nuggets and Michael Malone — spoke highly of both parties.
Calling the Nuggets “extremely dangerous” and “extremely well-coached,” LeBron would go on to explain why he has such a high level of respect for the Nuggets’ head coach (h/t DNVR Sports’ Harrison Wind):
"“When you work hard on your craft and you see others working just as hard on their craft, it becomes organic and mutual respect…”"
Malone has been the head coach of the Nuggets for the past five seasons, where he’s amassed a 219-182 record in the regular season and a 15-13 record in the postseason. With Denver showing constant improvement and the vast majority of their younger players developing consistently, the Nuggets have made it to the playoffs in two consecutive years and are in the Conference Finals for the first time since 2009.
Over the past 35 years, Denver has only been to the Western Conference Finals twice. For a team that has a roster that’s arguably without a traditional superstar, has been playing without a starter all postseason and whose best players are mostly 25-and-under, there’s no doubt that Malone has exceeded expectations with the Nuggets.
LeBron said he has a great deal of respect both for Denver’s team, and for head coach Mike Malone, with whom he goes way back. He mentioned how resilient and confident they are.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) September 17, 2020
As the son of a former head coach (Brendan Malone, who coached LeBron with the Cleveland Cavaliers in his rookie season) who learned under coaches like Greg Kampe, Pete Gillen and Lenny Wilkens, it shouldn’t be surprising that Malone has made a name for himself in the coaching ranks. It also shouldn’t be surprising that LeBron has so much respect for him, as Malone was an assistant coach with the Cavaliers through James’ first stint in Cleveland.
Nonetheless, while the praise is well-deserved, the acknowledgement from a player of LeBron’s stature is a stamp of approval that shouldn’t be downplayed.
Just like Malone, the Nuggets have shown that they’re not a team that should be underestimated, having become the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit twice in the same postseason. It had only been done 11 times in NBA history before Denver showed how resilient they are and as a player who has led a team from down 3-1, there’s no doubt that LeBron understands exactly what kind of team lays ahead of him.