NBA champion Michael Malone surprisingly pivots to college, rejecting multiple pro offers for the UNC Tar Heels' coaching helm.
North Carolina has yet to officially announce Michael Malone as its new head coach as of late Monday night.
But per multiple reports, Malone is set to become the leader in Chapel Hill.
Malone went 510-394 as a head coach in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets. He won the NBA Finals with the Nuggets in 2023.
Malone sat out the 2025-26 NBA season after he was fired at the end of the 2025 regular season.
The Nuggets were playoff-bound when Malone was fired, but Denver wanted to make a coaching change before the postseason amid a four-game losing streak.
UNC's decision to hire Malone stands out for a few reasons. The Tar Heels were unable to land elite college basketball coaches like Arizona's Tommy Lloyd or Michigan's Dusty May.
Instead, the Tar Heels went after a coach who is well respected in the NBA, which certainly helped the program escape paying a large buyout to another school.
Per Brett Siegel with ClutchPoints, Malone was expected to be a top candidate for multiple NBA teams, including the New Orleans Pelicans and Orlando Magic.
"League sources say Michael Malone was expected to have several NBA coaching offers this upcoming offseason, with the Pelicans and Magic, who are said to be monitoring Jamahl Mosley's status closely, being two teams notably mentioned as suitors for him," Siegel posted on X.
While May wasn't planning on leaving Michigan for another college basketball program, there is a possibility he'd leave for the NBA.
Malone, who has seen how brutal the business can be at that level, chose to join the college ranks at a Blue Blood school.
Malone does have college coaching experience, though this will be the first time he's been a head coach at that level.
He's coached as an assistant with Oakland, Providence and Manhattan.
NBA coaches only have so much power with which they can control a team. The roster's makeup is determined by the front office.
Malone can be more hands-on with how the Tar Heels build their program.
With that being said, Malone will face the same high-pressure stakes with UNC that he did in Denver. After all, Hubert Davis was dismissed after losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament two years in a row.