Nikola Jokić's former head coach apparently believes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the 2024-25 NBA MVP. "Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he showed why he's MVP," Michael Malone said Tuesday during an appearance on ESPN's postgame coverage when discussing the Oklahoma City Thunder's 114-88 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

The former Nuggets head coach raised some eyebrows with comments he made Tuesday night during his debut as an ESPN analyst.

Malone joined ESPN's broadcast crew covering the NBA's conference finals action this postseason. That'd be awesome for him if he weren't hoping to be still coaching at this point. The Nuggets unceremoniously fired Malone with just three games left in the regular season before Denver headed into the playoffs.

Per the network's announcement, Malone will appear on NBA Countdown during pregame and halftime for ESPN's coverage of the Thunder-Timberwolves series. He'll appear alongside the usual playoff crew of Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Kendrick Perkins, Bob Myers and Shams Charania.

The Denver Nuggets‘ season came to an end when they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series. Before their postseason began, the organization made waves with a stunning decision to fire head coach Michael Malone.

Michael Malone was fired just before the end of the regular season, and it sounds like his handling of Russell Westbrook may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

NBA rumors suggest Russell Westbrook is once again being scapegoated for Michael Malone’s firing from the Denver Nuggets.