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Michael Malone steals show at Nuggets championship parade: Enjoys several drinks, says Denver will repeat

Sam Jarden

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Michael Malone steals show at Nuggets championship parade: Enjoys several drinks, says Denver will repeat image

Go crazy, Michael Malone. You've earned it. 

Three days after the Nuggets won their first NBA title in 47 years, their head coach was in full party mode for the championship parade in Denver. Malone joined his players atop a fleet of fire trucks that made its way through the streets of the Mile High City to a rally in the heart of downtown. 

Before the parade even started, you could tell Malone was ready to have himself a day. He arrived sporting a shirt that read "put this in your pipe and smoke it" with a picture of the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

The shirt was in reference to his use of the phrase after Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers. 

"You win Game 1 of the playoffs and all everybody talked about was the Lakers," he told reporters. "No one talked about Nikola just had a historic performance. He’s got 13 triple-doubles now, third all-time. What he’s doing is just incredible, but the narrative wasn’t about the Nuggets. The narrative wasn’t about Nikola. The narrative was about the Lakers and their adjustments. So you know, you put that in your pipe, you smoke it, and you come back and you know what, we’re going to go up 2–0.”

The parade began around 11 a.m. local time in Denver, but that didn't deter Malone or anyone else from enjoying a few beverages. He was seen sipping on a few beers as the celebrations made their way downtown, and he even caught what appeared to be an airplane bottle thrown from the crowd before promptly downing it. 

When the vehicles could proceed no further, players and coaches had to travel the rest of the route on foot. Shortly after beginning his walk, Malone doused some lucky fans in champagne. 

He then made his way to an interview with a local television station, which was a real roller coaster of emotions. It began with him getting visibly choked up while describing what the moment meant to him.

It ended with him reminding us of his strong desire to win another ring with the Nuggets in the future.

"I've got a crazy idea," he told Denver7 News. "I'm kinda crazy. I'm a little bit emotional. Let's do this s--t again."

As a warning, pretty much every video from here on out will contain NSFW language.

Malone continued to steal the show when he and his team finally reached the stage at the downtown rally.

He walked out to greet the crowd holding a seltzer in one hand and a (much-needed) water in the other. Before he took the mic, the veteran coach was introduced as "the Lakers' daddy" by Altitude Sports' Vic Lombardi. 

Malone gave an impassioned speech about his love for the Nuggets fans, staff and players. And of course, he made special mention of NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic. 

"You guys know he stat pads, right?" Malone joked about the Serbian superstar. "And you guys know he didn't win a third in a row MVP because the voters didn't want to vote for him."

He also gave a nod to key role player Bruce Brown, who has a $6.8 million player option for the upcoming season. For what it's worth, Malone seemed very confident Brown will be returning for another season with Denver. 

"Is Brucey B going anywhere?" he asked the fans. "Hell no! We're running this s--t back!"

To cap it all off, he concluded the ceremonies by splitting what appeared to be a bottle of Fireball whiskey with veteran center DeAndre Jordan. 

Even a wicked hangover tomorrow morning won't be enough to bring Michael Malone down from his championship high. But for his sake, let's hope he remembers to slip in some water as the party continues in the Mile High City. 

Sam Jarden

Sam Jarden Photo

Sam Jarden joined Sporting News as an intern in 2020 and returned as a content producer in 2022. In between, he spent a year and a half at Turner Sports, managing the social media accounts for Bleacher Report, NBA on TNT, NBA TV and others. A proud UNC alumnus, he spends his free time following the Tar Heels, Buffalo Bills and Newcastle United FC, and has been known to occasionally hit the links.