North Carolina shared a laughable Michael Malone 'player development' graphic
Michael Malone is a great coach, but North Carolina got carried away with what and WHO he deserves credit for.
There's no need to deny it. The North Carolina men's college basketball program went a bit outside the box with the hire of Michael Malone as its new head coach . But given what Malone accomplished with the Denver Nuggets โ winning the 2023 NBA championship, helping to develop Nikola Jokiฤ and Jamal Murray into bona fide superstars โ perhaps it's not that crazy for Malone to enjoy some success with the Tar Heels .
What is actually crazy is that North Carolina, or its social media team, suggested Malone had a major hand in the "player development" of many other notable non-Denver NBA icons and superstars. A new promotional graphic from the Tar Heels centers on Malone while implying he helped develop LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Chris Paul, among others. Uh, sure?
He totally helped those guys become living legends with his assistant coaching stops. That's definitely something worth amplifying to everyone without a hint of irony: Just to list a few. pic.
twitter. com/66mvDjJg6n โ Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) April 11, 2026 Listen, I know Malone was around James in his early Cleveland Cavaliers days. I know he was around Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green right before the Golden State Warriors became an era-defining team.