Denver Nuggets fired up head coach Michael Malone over lose to… See more…
DENVER (AP) — Michael Malone will be staring up when the Denver Nuggets raise their championship banner Tuesday night before the season opener.
He’ll be looking past the banner, though, in remembrance of his late father, who also happened to be his friend, mentor and biggest supporter.
Brendan Malone, the longtime coach and driving force behind the Detroit Pistons “Bad Boys” defenses in the late 1980s and early ’90s, died nearly two weeks ago. He was 81.
“I’m always thinking about him,” Michael Malone, the coach of the Nuggets, said after the team went through practice Monday on the eve of hosting LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. “He’s with me every step of the way.
And so tomorrow night, when we celebrate and raise that banner, it’s going to be a great moment for our fans, first and foremost, and for the franchise. But I know my father will be here. He bought tickets on StubHub. He’ll be here.”
Malone, who’s beginning his ninth season with Denver, always received a text or call from his dad following every game.
For the first time that he can recall, there were no words of wisdom awaiting him after the preseason finale in Los Angeles against the Clippers last week.
