The banner above Michael Malone was impossible to ignore. So the coach from Queens fixated on it as a physical representation of his ambition in a new city.
“I remember early on, first year, you look up at the rafters and you see all the great names,” he said. “And you see ‘432’ staring at you. And there was a little part of me always, a competitive side of me, that said: ‘I’m gonna break that record. I’m gonna break that record.’”
For 10 years, Doug Moe’s 432 wins literally loomed over Malone, an increasingly difficult milestone to chase in the modern NBA. But when Malone looked up at the Ball Arena rafters last Monday, for the first time, he was no longer chasing it. With a 127-102 rout of the Lakers, he had passed Moe’s all-time record for the most regular-season wins by a Nuggets coach.
Now a banner of his own is in Malone’s future.
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“When I first got here, growing up a son of a coach, you know that job security is something that doesn’t kind of go with our profession,” he said. “And that’s why my father tried to talk me out of becoming a coach.”
“He’s a really passionate guy,” Nikola Jokic said. “He likes to win. He doesn’t like to lose. (The record) is something that’s going to be there for a long time, probably.”
Malone’s only previous stint as a head coach had ended a fraction through his second season in Sacramento. Even his late father, whose accomplished career in the NBA spanned multiple decades and multiple championships, lasted just one year in his only head coaching job. Before the Nuggets played in Toronto this October, Malone retold the story of watching Brendan Malone’s Raptors shock the 1995-96 Bulls. “Great memory,” he said, pausing for comedic effect. “And then unfortunately, obviously he got fired.”
Needless to say, there was very little reason to believe 432 wins with any one franchise would be attainable when Michael took over the Nuggets in 2015. That didn’t stop him from envisioning it during a 33-49 season.
If someone had told him at the beginning that he would eventually become the franchise’s winningest coach, how would he have responded?
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“Damn right,” Malone said, grinning.
He’s now the fourth-longest tenured coach in the league, behind San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Golden State’s Steve Kerr. With 473 wins between Sacramento and Denver, he ranks 43rd in league history and eighth among active coaches.
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone shouts as Nikola Jokic (15) runs to play offense during the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Ball Arena in Denver on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“That’s a byproduct of having a tremendous coaching staff, outstanding players and the support of our front office and ownership group for 10 years,” the 53-year-old said before Denver hosted the Knicks last Monday. “So I never take that continued belief lightly, because I know how the profession can be.
“… For my daughters to move here in third grade and fifth grade and to go all the way through high school, that’s incredible. And that’s why this place has become home. And I couldn’t ask for a better position with better people and a better city, and we truly love it here.”
What happened next was a fitting example of Malone’s competitive fire that helped him win 433 games in 56 fewer tries than Moe. The Nuggets allowed 145 points in a loss that night, their worst defensive performance of Malone’s tenure, and the coach proceeded to rip his team’s effort in a passionate postgame news conference. Any talk of the franchise record was suddenly in the distant past. It was back to business as usual.
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“He keeps everybody accountable,” longtime point guard Jamal Murray had said a few days earlier, “which I love the most.”
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There’s no game on deck for the Denver Broncos today as the team’s schedule will continue tomorrow when they host the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football to wrap up Week 13.
Denver will play eight home games at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium this year and nine games on the road. Because the league has an unbalanced 17-game schedule, the NFC and AFC rotate between having an extra home game. This year, the NFC gets a ninth home game.
The Broncos are led by head coach Sean Payton with rookie Bo Nix serving as their starting quarterback this fall.
View the team’s complete 2024 schedule below.
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Denver Broncos 2024 Schedule
Week
Date
TV
Opponent
Time (MT)
Broncos Tickets
1
9/8
CBS
@ Seattle Seahawks
26-20 L
2
9/15
CBS
vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
13-6 L
3
9/22
FOX
@ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
26-7 W
4
9/29
CBS
@ New York Jets
10-9 W
5
10/6
FOX
vs. Las Vegas Raiders
34-18 W
6
10/13
CBS
vs. Los Angeles Chargers
23-16 L
7
10/17
Amazon Prime Video
@ New Orleans Saints
33-10 W
8
10/27
CBS
vs. Carolina Panthers
28-14 W
9
11/3
CBS
@ Baltimore Ravens
41-10 L
10
11/10
CBS
@ Kansas City Chiefs
16-14 L
11
11/17
FOX
vs. Atlanta Falcons
38-6 W
12
11/24
CBS
@ Las Vegas Raiders
29-19 W
13
12/2
ESPN
vs. Cleveland Browns
6:15 PM
Tickets
14
12/8
BYE
15
12/15
CBS
vs. Indianapolis Colts
2:25 PM
Tickets
16
12/19
Prime
@ Los Angeles Chargers
6:15 PM
Tickets
17
12/28 or 12/29
TBD
@ Cincinnati Bengals
TBD
Tickets
18
1/4 or 1/5
TBD
vs. Kansas City Chiefs
TBD
Tickets
The Broncos have not returned to the playoffs since their Super Bowl-winning season in 2015. Now entering his second season on the job, Payton will aim to snap the club’s eight-year playoff drought this fall.
DENVER (KDVR) — Fly fishing enthusiasts in Colorado have the opportunity to enjoy the state’s “secret season.” While the cold weather is no secret in Colorado, it is the factor that creates the conditions for fly fishing’s secret season.
Adding a winter before fly fishing isn’t the only change that comes with the cold. The fish’s behavior changes as the water gets cooler, the fisher’s gear must change and tiny nuances in methodology must be performed.
Colorado remains a fly fishing hub regardless of the time of year but prime locations can change with the season. For those around the Denver Metro, there are several spots within a short drive that can offer a great winter fly fishing experience, according to Fishing Booker.
Quick drives from the Denver Metro
Denver, South Platte River — Carp and trout are the hot items in this area. Eleven Mile, Cheesman and Waterton canyons have historically been popular places.
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Loveland, Big Thompson River — This hub for the cold is the trout fisher’s dream. The location can offer Rainbow, Laker, Brown and Cutthroat trout.
Vail, Gore Creek — Located off of Interstate 70, this spot near the famous ski town can offer a great supply of trout. Brown, Rainbow, Brook and Cutthroat travel in the creek.
Silverthorne, Blue River — Possibly Colorado’s most popular winter fly fishing spot, Blue River is populated with trout. Cutthroat, Rainbow, Brown and the rare Cutthroat and Brown trout hybrid, the Cutbow.
Other hot spots around Colorado
Pueblo, Arkansas River — Big Rainbow Trout
Gunnison, Taylor/Gunnison River — Brown, Rainbow and Kokanee trout
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South Fork, Rio Grande — Rainbow and Brown trout
Kremmling, Upper Colorado River — Rainbow and Brown trout
Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has played an enormous part in the team’s success throughout the 2024 season. One of the most impactful pieces of the third-ranked Denver defense is third-year rush linebacker Nik Bonitto — the Broncos’ first double-digit sack artist since Von Miller and Bradley Chubb in 2018.
On Friday, Joseph spoke highly of Bonitto’s growth in all aspects of being an edge defender.
“Obviously, Nik was drafted to be a pash rusher,” Joseph said. “He was a great pash rusher in college and he is a great one right now. He’s playing well. His improvement really came through the run game. The more you can play, the more chance you can rush.”
Coming out of Oklahoma in the 2022 draft, Bonitto was seen as a pass-rush specialist with great speed and explosiveness off the edge but needed to improve his run defense. While not perfect, he’s proven to be much more capable of stopping the run thus far, making him a more complete edge rusher, which keeps him on the field.
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“If you’re only a DPR [Defensive Pass Rusher]—just a rusher—we can’t play you every down,” Joseph said. “As Nik improves, he’s gotten strong in the run game. He’s playing the run very well. That’s allowed him to have more rushes. Being a firmer player on the edge has allowed him to rush more often. Now his special trait has showed, and that’s pass rushing.”
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The team was so impressed by Bonitto’s vast improvements that it felt comfortable trading away fellow pass rusher Baron Browning so he could see more snaps as a starter. Joseph has seen a lot of growth from Bonitto since he re-joined the team in 2023.
“Obviously again—through the draft process—we saw the special ability,” Joseph said. “You’re always chasing pass rushers in a 3-4 defense. This kid was a natural rusher in college. Coming here his rookie year, you could see the traits. Again, he wasn’t playing all the time because he wasn’t a great run defender. Him being a run defender and getting stronger on the edge has allowed him to have more rushes.”
Joseph also touched on how having great complementary pieces around him in the front seven has created some great one-on-one opportunities for Bonitto, with fellow rush linebacker Jonathon Cooper and interior rusher Zach Allen commanding attention from opponents.
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“Obviously with multiple rushes, he is going to win his share. Having leads, having third downs be longer—those things—having ‘Coop’ opposite [of him] having Zach inside, it’s really a lot of things [that] allows him to get one-on-ones. Once he gets that, he’s going to win his share.”
Bonitto’s natural ability as a pass rusher caught the Broncos’ eye, and he worked through his deficiencies in the ground game to become undeniable as a starter. He’s a crucial piece of Denver’s defensive dominance, and with five games to go, he’ll have a shot at the sack title as he currently ranks No. 3 in the NFL with 10 quarterback takedowns.
Bonitto is in for a considerable payday if he continues on his current trajectory, and Denver would be wise to pay up sooner rather than later.
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