Brendan Malone, father of Nuggets coach and former Detroit ‘Bad Boys’ assistant, died at the age of 81

Brendan Malone, the father of Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone and a driving force behind the Detroit Pistons’ “Bad Boys” defensive in the late 1980s and early 1990s, has away at the age of 81.

On Tuesday, a Nuggets spokesperson informed The Associated Press that a family member verified his death.

“It is with tremendous sadness that we share the passing of longtime NBA coach Brendan Malone, who holds a special place amongst the organization and will be a Denver Nugget forever,” the Nuggets said in a social media post.

Malone spent three decades in the NBA as an assistant or head coach with the Knicks, Pacers, Cavaliers, Magic, Raptors, and Pistons. He was also his son’s primary helper with the Kings.

From 1988 until 1995, as Chuck Daly’s assistant in Detroit, the older Malone promoted “The Jordan Rules,” a set of defensive concepts aimed to limit Michael Jordan’s offensive abilities.

Although Jordan finally discovered methods for the Bulls to beat the Pistons, the tactic helped Detroit defeat Chicago in the Eastern Conference Finals on their route to a pair of NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.

The National Basketball Coaches Association honored the older Malone with the 2023 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award shortly after Michael Malone led the Nuggets to their first NBA title last summer.

During the Finals versus Miami, Michael Malone stated that his father tried to discourage him from pursuing a coaching profession. “He had lived it with six kids, and he understood the pitfalls of that job,” Malone told me. “I was just too dumb and stubborn to listen to him.”

Read more:

Zion Williamson makes his first NBA debut after hurting his right hamstring in January

Ben An responds to his 3-month ban on social media: “I regret not being thorough in my decision making”