Malone previously spent 10 seasons as the head coach of the Nuggets and led Denver to the only NBA championship in franchise history in 2023. He was fired last April and joined ESPN as an analyst just over a month later. Almost a year to the day he was fired, in another surprise move, Malone is on the verge of taking over a blue-blood program with six national titles, a record 21 appearances in the Final Four, and alums including Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Vince Carter, and Atlantic Coast Conference career scoring leader Tyler Hansbrough.
Malone will replace Hubert Davis, who was fired by UNC last month after the Tar Heels' first-round loss to VCU in the NCAA tournament.
Malone, who spent more than two decades as either a head coach or an assistant in the NBA, will inherit a Tar Heels team that has been seeking a head coaching replacement for nearly two weeks.
UNC had been linked to multiple high-profile college coaches, including Michigan's Dusty May, Arizona's Tommy Lloyd, and Iowa State's T.J. Otzelberger. But after all three publicly committed to staying at their current schools, the Tar Heels turned to Malone, who previously spent 10 seasons as the head coach of the Denver Nuggets.
Malone, 54, is the winningest coach in Denver history, with a 471-327 career record. He will become the first North Carolina Coach without prior playing or coaching experience at the school since the 1950s.
The Tar Heels reached the national championship game in their first season under Davis, losing to Kansas, but failed to advance past the Sweet 16 in each of the past four seasons. UNC won the most recent of its six NCAA championships under Davis' predecessor, Roy Williams, in 2017.
With the failure to lure a big-name college coach to Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels now turn to Malone, who has never been a college head coach and last was an assistant in the NCAA ranks in 2001 at Manhattan. Malone also had stints in college as an assistant at Oakland and Providence. He spent only one season in the ACC, working as director of men's basketball administration at Virginia under Pete Gillen in 1998-99.
Malone's daughter, Bridget, is a sophomore at UNC and a member of the volleyball team.
During an October appearance on the UNC athletic department's "Carolina Insider" podcast, Malone recalled hearing his late father, NBA coach Brendan Malone, talk often about Dean Smith and UNC basketball. He also mentioned attending multiple recent practices and Davis asking him to speak to the team at least once.
"I've always been a Carolina fan," Malone said. "And when (Bridget) decided to come here, that made it even that much more special, because now I'm 'Go Heels' for everything. I root for all the teams, have fallen in love with Chapel Hill."
Malone wasn't the first coach from the NBA that UNC targeted. Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan appeared to be high on the list, but he informed all parties he would not leave until at least the end of the NBA season, which is still nearly a week away (April 12). With the transfer portal opening Tuesday morning, it wasn't viable for North Carolina to wait. Iowa's Ben McCollum and Baylor's Scott Drew were the next college names on the list, but they reportedly rejected overtures, and so the Tar Heels opted for Malone.
On Monday afternoon, students were cautiously optimistic about the news,
"It's pretty cool. He had some success with the Nuggets, but he also has no experience with college players, so it's really like a wildcard. What are we getting into?" said Jason John, a UNC student.
Another student, Kosci Kondo, had a slightly sunnier outlook.
"He's a former NBA coach, so he's had success with the Nuggets for a while, so I think he has the wheels to get it done," Kondo said.
Ryan Hoder, also a UNC student, felt the hire was a shrewd one.
It is a smart move knowing ... who knows what college basketball will look like next year with financials and NIL," Hoder said. "Just trying to get ahead of it, and college sports in general, is moving towards a pro direction."
Student Eshaan Gandhi said pro experience could be an asset.
"NBA coaches have a lot more experience with trades and things like that and know more about the money side of things, and I think the experience he brings from the NBA will be more of a help to us," he said.
Malone's time in the NBA included a brief stint in Sacramento, where he was fired in December 2014, just 24 games into his second season. He also worked as an assistant with the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets and Golden State Warriors.
David Adelman, Malone's successor in Denver, said he was happy for his friend, adding that Malone would be comfortable with players earning big money through name, image and likeness deals.
"It's more of a professional environment now, especially at schools like that, where you have to look at it like these guys are under contract now," Adelman said. "And I think a lot of NBA coaches understand what it means to coach somebody that's making money."
UNC now has big-name former pro coaches leading its two highest-profile programs. The Tar Heels hired six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick as their football coach in December 2024. Belichick struggled to a 4-8 record in his debut season.
- ABC11's Jamiese Price, ESPN, and The Associated Press contributed.
Download the ABC11 News app