BREAKING: Nikola Jokic Grew ‘Frustrated, Fatiged’ by Michael Malone

Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets reacts against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second quarter in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round Playoffs.

Aproduct of the Gregg Popovich learning tree, Michael Malone was known to be a taskmaster in his own right during his stint as head coach of the Nuggets. After a while, Malone’s hard-nosed tactics apparently ticked off the locker room, specifically the team’s best player, Nikola Jokic.

According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Tony Jones, Jokic grew “frustrated and fatigued” with Malone’s coaching before the latter was fired by ownership.

“The locker room was a mess, with team and league sources indicating that the franchise’s most important players, including three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic, had grown frustrated and fatigued by Malone’s fiery ways,” read the April 10 report.

The report quoted a team source as saying that Malone and GM Calvin Booth’s “cold war” trickled into the locker room, making it overbearing for the players.

“The stuff off the court was even worse than the stuff on the court,” one Nuggets source told The Athletic. “Everyone felt the weight of it.”

Nikola Jokic Knew About Malone’s Firing

Shortly after Denver fired its longtime head coach, Jokic admitted that team ownership consulted about the decision before making it public. The Serb noted that he accepted the decision after a conversation with owner Josh Kroenke.

“I knew a little bit before everybody,” Jokic said on April 9. “And he told me, ‘We made a decision.’ So it was not a discussion. It was a decision. He told me why. And so I listened. And I accepted it. I’m not going to tell you what he told me. I’m going to keep that private.”

According to beat writers in Denver, the relationship between Malone and Jokic began to worsen after the All-Star break but reached a fever pitch in March. First, the Nuggets suffered a humiliating loss to the lowly Wizards, and six days later, they suffered a 128-109 blowout defeat at Portland.

After the loss to the Trail Blazers, Malone publicly lashed out at his players.

“My job is to be honest, and sometimes brutally honest,” Malone told reporters on March 21. “And tonight, it was a brutally honest message (after the game). And the guys who are full of s— won’t hear it. They’ll say, ‘Coach is trippin’.’

“They’re not going to go back and watch their minutes, because nobody watches their minutes. Nobody watches film. So, we’ll have to show them the film. And I said, ‘If somebody disagrees with me, please speak up.’ Nobody said a word.”

Interim Coach Off to Winning Start

A longtime assistant coach, Rick Adelman, was named interim head coach after the team fired Malone. In his first game in charge, Adelman led the Nuggets to a 124-116 win over the Kings. After the win, he explained why transitioning into Malone’s seat isn’t as much of a challenge as it may seem to onlookers.

“I’ve been talking to the team for eight years, and so I didn’t feel like there was a big difference,” Adelman said. via The Athletic. “They’ve heard my voice forever, especially Nikola, Jamal and Michael (Porter Jr.). So to me, it was different responsibilities, delegation, and in-game (duties).

“But behind closed doors, I didn’t feel any difference. Outside of the stress of what had gone on, I don’t think they heard me any differently than they heard me before. So it felt pretty natural, in that sense, to step into it. … It felt pretty comfortable.”

Entering the final weekend of the 2024-25 season, the Nuggets (48-32) were in the fourth seed but had not clinched a playoff berth due to close nature of the West.