Former Nuggets' coach disses Nikola Jokic publicly after sudden firing

As the world awaits the MVP announcement, the debate rages on: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Nikola Jokic?

One former member of the Nuggets has made his vote clear.

Michael Malone, who was fired as the head coach of Denver just three games out from the postseason, made a surprise appearance on ESPN for game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

After the Thunder defeated Minnesota 114-88, Malone was live from Oklahoma City where he shared his thoughts on a big night for Gilgeous-Alexander.

"He showed why he's the MVP," Malone said. "He took over in the second half."

SGA finished with 31 points and had a great recovery from a bad first half, but that's not the story.

The real headline is that Malone, who spent 10 years as the coach for Jokic and the Nuggets, went out of his way to delineate that his former superstar is not the league's most valuable player this season.

Uh huh https://t.co/53LdNAeRcY pic.twitter.com/wn8tmGDXKY

If Malone is still coaching the Nuggets, he doesn't make a statement like this. Even if they were eliminated from the playoffs the coach would stand by his player or at least abstain from the argument altogether.

But as a free and unemployed man, Malone was allotted the platform to speak his mind. Chances are that he may have felt this way all season while coaching Jokic. 

Jokic reportedly had nothing to do with Malone's departure but if you read between the lines, the comment could come off as a subtle diss. 

After Malone was fired, David Adelman took over as the head coach and led the Nuggets to the second round when they lost a grueling 7-game series to the Thunder. 

Malone and Jokic won a title together in 2023, but that wasn't enough to save the coach's job this season.

So did Malone diss Jokic? Or was it an off-the-cuff remark that slipped out on live television? We may never get the truth. 

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