North Carolina hires NBA champion coach Mike Malone to replace Hubert Davis

The University of North Carolina has announced hiring of former Denver Nuggets head coach and NBA champion Michael Malone to lead the Tar Heels men’s basketball program.

Malone, 54, succeeds Hubert Davis, who was recently dismissed following five years of service. 

The former head coach took his team to the national championship game during his first season but was unable to reach beyond the Sweet 16 in the four subsequent seasons.

What is surprising about this decision is that Malone has not been a college head coach before. 

He has spent the entirety of his head coaching career in the NBA, winning 510 games in 12 seasons. 

His most notable accomplishment happened in 2023, when he guided his Nuggets to their first-ever NBA championship with superstar player Nikola Jokić.

But Denver surprisingly fired Malone after three games before the end of 2024-25. He spent the last year as an ESPN analyst, as he couldn’t secure an NBA head coach position.

Though Malone does not start from scratch as a college coach, he coached as an assistant at Oakland, Providence, and Manhattan in the 1990s. 

The current volleyball player at UNC for his daughter has probably quickened the negotiation process.