The former nugget coach, Michael Malone, has raised more than a few eyebrows earlier this week with his high praise from the Oklahoma City Star Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but he wanted to set the record straight with the city of Denver on Thursday evening.
Nikola Jokic, not Gilgeous-Alexander, was his choice for MVP this season.
“I voted again for him this year, if I had a vote,” said Malone, appearing as a guest analyst on ESPN before match 2 between the Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, about Jokic, his former long -standing star. “I want to make sure that the inhabitants of Denver know it because at the moment, I receive a lot of warmth at home.”
Malone’s remarks occurred shortly after Gilgeous-Alexander received the MVP trophy from the League of Commissioner Adam Silver at a pre-match ceremony at the Paycc Center. Gilgeous-Alexander was announced on Wednesday winner, with Jokic finishing second.
Malone, who was dismissed by Denver a few days before the end of the regular season after a 10-year race as a chief coach, attracted the anger of Nuggets fans on Tuesday evening when he said that Gilgeous-Alexander “showed why he was the MVP” in his 31-point performance in the prevailing Thunder victory of the Wolves.
The praises were interpreted by some as a subtle shot on Jokic and the Nuggets after Malone’s surprise.
Jokic, a MVP three times, helped lead the Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs, where they were eliminated by Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder in seven games.
Malone is working on pre-match and half-time studio shows in the Western Conference final. He was not part of the world media panel of 100 voters who decided MVP.
