North Carolina is poised to rip up decades of its own playbook. The Tar Heels reportedly plan to hire former NBA coach Michael Malone as their next men's basketball coach, bringing a 54-year-old pro veteran to Chapel Hill after the school fired Hubert Davis following five seasons. Malone is best known for leading the Denver Nuggets to the 2023 NBA title and has spent the past year working as an ESPN analyst after leaving Denver last spring.
How the report broke
According to ESPN, reporter Pete Thamel wrote that North Carolina "is set to hire Michael Malone," calling attention to an outside-the-box choice for a program trying to climb back to the sport's elite tier. ESPN notes that Malone has 510 career NBA wins, guided the Nuggets to their only championship in 2023, and was fired by Denver in April 2025.
Local confirmation and context
WRAL reports that two sources confirmed the hire and points out that Malone's daughter, Bridget, plays volleyball for Carolina, a family tie that has kept him on campus at times this season. WRAL also reports that UNC pursued coaches including Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May before turning to Malone, and notes that the men's basketball transfer portal opens Tuesday, making a swift hire critical for roster decisions and recruiting work.
Malone's resume and Carolina connection
Malone's coaching résumé stretches from college assistant jobs in the 1990s to more than a decade as an NBA head coach, including a brief stint with the Sacramento Kings followed by a 10-season run in Denver. His Chapel Hill connection is not just professional: UNC Athletics lists Bridget Malone on the volleyball roster and includes game notes praising her contributions, which observers say made Malone a familiar face around campus this year.
What comes next
A formal contract and staff hires still need to be finalized, and local coverage notes that the administration will be under pressure to move quickly to steady recruiting and navigate portal choices. The Fayetteville Observer via AOL reports that Malone is expected to leave his ESPN role and that UNC faces immediate roster decisions. Fans will be watching how a longtime pro coach adjusts to college recruiting, NIL realities, and the challenge of assembling a staff on a tight clock.
