The University of North Carolina hired former NBA head coach and ESPN analyst Michael Malone to replace Hubert Davis as the head coach of the men’s basketball program, following Davis’s firing from the role after a stunning NCAA Tournament first-round exit at the hands of the VCU Rams.
Before joining ESPN’s NBA coverage last postseason, Malone served as the head coach of the Denver Nuggets for 10 seasons, winning 471 games and an NBA championship with the franchise before being fired last year with only three games remaining in the regular season.
While ESPN focuses on filling the coverage void left by Malone’s departure, UNC is thrilled to be replacing Davis, who had never served as a head coach at any level before assuming the role for the Tar Heels, with such an accomplished leader.
On Saturday, the UNC men’s basketball team’s official X account posted a graphic touting Malone’s player development at the professional level, crediting him for his role in developing some of the greatest players in NBA history, including LeBron James, Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, and Nikola Jokić.
Just to list a few. pic.twitter.com/66mvDjJg6n
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) April 11, 2026
For a lot of people, North Carolina might have given its incoming head coach a touch too much credit. James had already solidified himself as a force in the NBA when Malone served as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ staff as an assistant coach from 2005 to 2010. Paul already had an All-NBA selection to his name when Malone joined the Charlotte Hornets staff in the same capacity for a single season, and the coach spent only two seasons with the Golden State Warriors before Curry established himself as the best shooter in the league.
Although Malone was a vital part of Jokić’s success with the Nuggets, Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor struggled to even attribute too much credit to Malone for the center becoming a three-time MVP winner.
Who knows where LeBron, Jokic, and Steph would be if it weren’t for Mike Malone
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnor) April 12, 2026
Curry Hicks Sage, the host of the popular college basketball podcast Burning Sage, joked that Malone was James’s high school coach.
Noted Akron—St Mary St Vincent HS Coach Mike Malone https://t.co/ZXv6g7wvgf
— Curry Hicks Sage (@CurryHicksSage) April 12, 2026
So basically Mike Malone has developed everyone NBA all star of the past 25 years.
Impressive stuff for being the 9th option for North Carolina
— Michael Luke (@ironmikeluke) April 12, 2026
Malone has enough accomplishments under his belt that North Carolina doesn’t have to tout him as the greatest player development coach in NBA history, but after bringing him in for over $8 million annually, per WRAL’s Brian Murphy, it might make sense to sell him as hard as possible to the public.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.