Nuggets' David Adelman Reacts to Michael Malone Landing With UNC

The basketball world was hit with a bombshell on Monday upon the announcement of former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone deciding to take his talents to Chapel Hill and the NCAA to be the next head coach for the University of North Carolina.

It marks Malone's first re-entrance to coaching since his departure from the Nuggets back in 2025, now leading one of the most historic universities to ever play the sport. The move comes just under three years from leading Denver to their NBA title back in 2023, as he now gets a chance to add onto his resume with an NCAA title.

As to how Malone's tenure with North Carolina transpires remains to be seen, but when asking current Nuggets head coach and Malone's successor, David Adelman, he's confident that the university made the right call to bring him in.

“Super excited for him when I read it," Adelman said of Malone being hired to UNC, "Very unexpected, just because I hadn't heard anything about that... But, not just the basketball part– which is a historic job to take– but just the cool part of his daughter going to school there and all of the elements to it."

"Basketball in America has changed with the NIL and college. The hiring processes are different... The coaching pool is different... I just think it's changed everything. And a guy like him, he'd be perfect for that job. For all of the guys that are here that have known him, we were all super excited... I'm just happy for him and his family. He belongs coaching, and that's what he should be doing.”

David Adelman Confident in Michael Malone's Future With UNC

Mar 10, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone with assistant coach David Adelman in the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Having been worked under Malone throughout most of his tenure in Denver, being hired on initially as an assistant back in 2017 for Malone's third season with the team, Adelman knows just about as well as anyone how UNC's new head coach may fare in his new position.

Taking on a brand as prestigious and with as high expectations as North Carolina does on an annual basis isn't a role for the weak. Especially with the new landscape of college sports and the NIL implications baked in throughout, it takes a special mind to lead that crew to the aspired success fans are eager to see.

Enter Malone, who has a dozen years of experience as a head coach in the pros, paired with being the winningest coach in Nuggets history and an NBA Finals victory from 2023, that makes his resume stand out even further as an ideal candidate to take the reins.

With that in mind, UNC pulled the trigger to bring him on, now finds its new lead voice in the locker room, and is bound to have the unwavering support of Adelman and the Nuggets' players who battled with him as he embarks on his next journey.

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