INDIANAPOLIS – Even though Nuggets coach Michael Malone has been a basketball lifer, his path rarely intersected with former NBA commissioner David Stern, who passed away Wednesday at 77.
But just because Malone has a closer relationship with current NBA commissioner Adam Silver doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate the job Stern did in his 30 years overseeing the league and transitioning it to a worldwide brand.
“He meant so much to the NBA,” Malone said from Thursday’s shootaround at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. “David could be a real hard-(expletive). And I think in that position you need to be.