The Denver Nuggets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 on Tuesday and advanced to the second round of the postseason.
The win was the 25th that Nuggets head coach Malone has recorded in the postseason for Denver, passing 1988 NBA Coach of the Year Doug Moe (24) for the most in franchise history.
Malone also passed Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach George Karl for the most wins by a Nuggets coach in the playoffs (21) earlier in the series against Minnesota as well.
He could potentially pass both Moe (432) and Karl (423) for the most regular-season wins in franchise history either at the end of next season or the beginning of the following season.
"WE ARE A FAMILY" pic.twitter.com/44Bh5oLEPn
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 26, 2023
When it was time to celebrate after the game, once Malone was finished praising his team, it was his turn to receive some love as well.
Following Malone’s postgame speech, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray made an announcement and surprised the coach. He made the classy move to give his coach the game ball for the accomplishment.
Malone was shocked by the unexpected gesture from his team:
Malone then led his team to chant “FAMILY!” before they parted ways.
These are exactly the vibes you want to see from the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Denver will play the No. 4 seed Suns in the next round of the postseason, which begins after a few days of rest on April 29.
