The NBA world was rocked by another shock in-season firing on Tuesday when it was reported that the Denver Nuggets had fired head coach Michael Malone, along with general manager Calvin Booth.
The firing was a historic one, as Malone is now tied with the legendary Hubie Brown for the distinction of having coached the most games in a season before being fired. Brown had coached the 1980-81 Atlanta Hawks for 79 games when he was fired.
In addition, Malone also tied the record of having the most wins in a season at the time of a firing. That record he shares with another legend in the coaching world, Hall of Famer Larry Brown, who had coached the 1982-83 New Jersey Nets to a 47-29 record at the time of his firing.
According to reports, Malone was fired due to Nuggets players losing confidence in his messaging. Malone and Booth clashing over the direction of the team also didn’t help matters, per the Denver Post.
Even so, Malone’s firing was a complete shocker. We’ll see how interim head coach David Adelman, the son of former NBA head coach Rick Adelman, fares as interim head coach now.
Below, check out the NBA head coaches with the most games coached in a season before getting fired, as well as their win-loss records at the times of their firings. Spoiler alert: Malone and Taylor Jenkins, who the Memphis Gizzlies recently fired despite his 44-29 record this season, both rank high on this list.
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Games coached before firing: 79
Win-loss record: 47-32
JOHN ZICH/AFP via Getty Images
Games coached before firing: 79
Win-loss record: 31-48
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Games coached before firing: 76
Win-loss record: 47-29
Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Games coached before firing: 74
Win-loss record: 28-46
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Games coached before firing: 73
Win-loss record: 44-29
Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Games coached before firing: 73
Win-loss record: 45-28
Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images
Games coached before firing: 71
Win-loss record: 25-46
Photo by Stephen Dunn/NBAE/Getty Images
Games coached before firing: 69
Win-loss record: 32-37
Brian Bah
Games coached before firing: 67
Win-loss record: 28-39
Todd Warshaw
Games coached before firing: 67
Win-loss record: 25-42
Tim DeFrisco /Allsport
Games coached before firing: 66
Win-loss record: 33-33
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
Games coached before firing: 64
Win-loss record: 44-22
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Games coached before firing: 64
Win-loss record: 16-48
John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Games coached before firing: 64
Win-loss record: 31-33
Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
Games coached before firing: 64
Win-loss record: 34-30
Ken Levine /Allsport
Games coached before firing: 64
Win-loss record: 27-37
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Games coached before firing: 64
Win-loss record: 23-41
David Richard-Imagn Images
Games coached before firing: 62
Win-loss record: 28-34
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Games coached before firing: 61
Win-loss record: 18-43
Stephen Dunn/Allsport/Getty Images
Games coached before firing: 61
Win-loss record: 22-39
Games coached before firing: 60
Win-loss record: 20-40
