Nuggets promote Adelman to head coach 1073b

The Denver Nuggets announced Thursday they're removing the interim tag from David Adelman and making him their next head coach. 49474e

Denver was impressed with Adelman's work during his brief time as the full-time coach and moved swiftly to make him the permanent successor for Michael Malone, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

The Nuggets shockingly parted ways with Malone just before the postseason.

Adelman subsequently guided the team to a 3-0 mark in the regular season and was one victory away from helping the Nuggets reach their first Western Conference finals since capturing the NBA title in 2023.

"I knew that (Adelman) was more ready than people probably thought," Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said. "David went above and beyond where I thought that he would be."

After Denver's season ended, Adelman received public from multiple players, including three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and starting forward Aaron Gordon.

Adelman served as an assistant under Malone since 2017. The Oregon native also spent five years with the Minnesota Timberwolves as a player development coach and one campaign with the Orlando Magic on Frank Vogel's staff.

Adelman's father, Rick, was an NBA head coach for parts of 23 seasons with five clubs.