North Carolina has turned to the NBA for a successor to Hubert Davis.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports Michael Malone is set to be named the Tar Heels new head coach.
Davis was fired after five seasons last week.
Sources: North Carolina intends to hire longtime NBA coach Michael Malone as the school’s next basketball coach. He’s an NBA Championship coach with the Denver Nuggets from the 2022-23 season and has won 510 games as an NBA head coach. pic.twitter.com/JwJmUNRLQT
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 6, 2026
Malone, 54, is a native of Queens, NY and is the son of Brendan Malone, the head coach of the inaugural Toronto Raptors team.
He began his NBA career in 2001 as an assistant with the New York Knicks before roles on the staffs of the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets and Golden State Warriors. In 2013, Malone was named head coach of the Sacramento Kings. He was fired only 24 games into his second season with a record of 11-13.
In the fall of 2016, he was named head coach of the Denver Nuggets. He would go on to coach the team for parts of 10 seasons, leading them to an NBA championship in 2023. He was fired by the Nuggets with only three games remaining in the 2024-2025 season and the team sitting at 47-32.
Malone finishes his NBA tenure with a mark of 510-394 (.564).
A Tar Heel in his playing days, Davis succeeded the legendary Roy Williams in 2021 after 18 seasons and three championships. Under Davis, the team reached the NCAA title game in his first season, but failed to get past the Sweet Sixteen in the next four seasons. His Tar Heels team lost in the first round in both 2025 and 2026 and failed to make the tournament in 2023.