Malone spent 10 seasons as head coach of the Denver Nuggets.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — UNC plans to hire former NBA coach Michael Malone as the school’s next men’s basketball coach, according to CBS Sports.
Malone spent 10 seasons as head coach of the Denver Nuggets, leading the team to its only NBA championship in 2023. He was fired in April 2025 and joined ESPN as a basketball analyst shortly afterward.
Malone will replace Hubert Davis, who was dismissed in late March after five seasons as UNC’s head coach. Davis finished with a 125-54 record, reached the NCAA Tournament four times, and guided the Tar Heels to the 2022 national championship game. His tenure ended with back-to-back first-round NCAA Tournament losses, including a collapse against No. 11 seed VCU in which UNC blew a 19-point lead — the largest squandered first-round lead in tournament history, according to CBS Sports.
UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham and incoming Athletic Director Steve Newmark announced Davis’ firing and said the university would honor his contract.
“We appreciate all that Hubert has done for Carolina as a player, assistant coach, head coach and community leader,” Cunningham said. “This was not an easy decision because of Hubert’s tremendous character, but we must move forward in a way that allows our team to compete more consistently at an elite level.”
Newmark added, “Hubert cares deeply for our University, and it has been inspiring to watch him instill that love and Tar Heel tradition into the players he has coached.” UNC said a national search for Davis’ replacement is underway, with executive search firm Turnkey ZRG assisting and an advisory group of former players, coaches, and supporters consulted.
Davis, 55, played for the Tar Heels from 1988 to 1992 and spent 12 seasons in the NBA before returning to Chapel Hill as an assistant under Roy Williams in 2012. He became the first Black head coach in UNC history when he took over in 2021 following Williams’ retirement.
Malone last coached the Nuggets during the 2024-25 season, his 10th as Denver’s leader. UNC promised to go “outside the family” with this hire and proved a point with Malone, who wasn’t initially listed as a candidate on any of the Tar Heels’ reported lists of potential targets. This was the first time the Tar Heels conducted an outside search for a head coach since landing Roy Williams from Kansas prior to the 2003-04 season.