Denver Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone has been named the Western Conference Coach of the Month for games played in January.
Additionally, Malone and his coaching staff have secured the top seed in the Western Conference through games played on February 5th, earning them the right to coach Team LeBron in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.
Coach Malone led the Nuggets to a 12-4 record (.750) in January, the best record in the entire NBA during that span. The Nuggets won a season-high nine straight games from Jan. 5 to Jan. 20 and they also won nine consecutive home games as part of their season-long 16 game streak during the month as well. Denver ranked 1st in the NBA in Net Rating (+8.0), 4th in offensive rating (119.4) and 4th in defensive rating (111.4) while maintaining the number one seed in the West. On the season the Nuggets currently sit at the top of the Western Conference with a record of 35-16 while ranking 1st in the NBA offensive rating (117.4), field goal percentage (.508) and three-point percentage (.397), 2nd in Assists (28.6) and 3rd in net rating (4.1).
Michael Malone earns this honor for the second time in his coaching career (April ’21) and is just the third Nuggets coach to win the award multiple times (George Karl, Doug Moe). Coach Malone is in his eighth season as Head Coach for the Nuggets, compiling 349 total regular season wins with Denver (third in franchise history) and 21 playoff wins (tied for second in franchise history). Since Malone took over prior to the 2015-16 season, the Nuggets have seen the postseason on three occasions including a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2020, the first for the franchise since 2009. Denver has won four playoff series over the last four seasons, after winning a total of four in the previous 32 years.
