There’s only one head coach in the history of the Denver Nuggets who has led the team to an NBA championship, and unsurprisingly, he’s having some fun in the aftermath. Michael Malone appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday to discuss the team’s 5-game series win over the Miami Heat, and at one point, he was asked about how the conversation following their Western Conference Finals win over the Los Angeles Lakers focused on the team that got swept.
Malone ended up giving a pretty good answer — he specifically pointed out the discourse following Game 1 of the series, which revolved around L.A. figuring things out by having Rui Hachimura guard Nikola Jokic — but before that, he cracked a joke at the expense of LeBron James.
“Well, a really good question, and speaking of the Lakers: I just want you guys to know, this is breaking news, I’m thinking about retiring, so don’t tell anybody,” Malone said at the 14:14 mark of the above video. Malone, of course, stressed that he was kidding, largely because he doesn’t want the Kroenke family to start looking for a new coach and that he’s not going anywhere.
In the aftermath of the Lakers getting swept, James was complimentary of Jokic and the Nuggets, but also dropped a few hints that he’d consider retiring this offseason. Over the next few days, reports began to circulate that those aware of James’ situation would be stunned if he actually did call it a career.
