Ex-Nuggets coach Mike Malone says Nikola Jokić was his pick for MVP despite praise for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Former Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone said his MVP vote would have gone to Nikola Jokić, not Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
'I did vote for him again this year — if I had a vote,' Malone said on ESPN before Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. 'Want to make sure the people in Denver know that because, right now, I'm getting a lot of heat back home.'
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Malone's comments Thursday night referenced some of his praise for Gilgeous-Alexander after the Oklahoma City Thunder's Game 1 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Malone said, 'Gilgeous-Alexander, he showed why he's the MVP' after his 31-point, nine-assist performance in the 114-88 win.
Gilgeous-Alexander was announced as the NBA's MVP the following night.
Previously, Malone had been one of the most vocal supporters of Jokić, as he won the MVP Award in three of the last five seasons. Jokić and Gilgeous-Alexander were considered the two leading MVP candidates this season, and despite the long list of achievements Jokić has piled up in recent years, many have argued he just finished his best individual season in 2024-25.
In early March, less than a month before being fired, Malone told reporters a player with Jokić's resume 'wins the MVP 10 times out of 10.'
Malone led Denver to its first NBA title in 2023 but was fired along with general manager Calvin Booth on April 8 after behind-the-scenes tensions between Malone and Booth boiled over. Malone was ousted with only three games left in the regular season, but Denver made it past the first round behind interim coach David Adelman, whom the Nuggets promoted to full-time head coach Thursday.
Before Malone's firing, team and league sources indicated the team's most important players, including Jokić, had grown frustrated and fatigued by Malone's fiery ways.
After Malone and Booth were fired, Jokić said he spoke with Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke about the Booth-Malone decision before it was revealed publicly.
'I'm not gonna say what Josh told me,' Jokić said in April. '(But) I mean, I knew a little bit before everybody, and he … told me, 'We made a decision.' So it was not a discussion. It was (their) decision. And, you know … he told me why (it was done). And so I listen and I accept it.'
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