Nikola Jokic was the unanimous MVP of the 2023 NBA Finals. But if they were to give out an MVP award for the championship parade, Michael Malone would be the runaway winner.
The Nuggets coach had himself a day at Thursday's championship parade in Denver, though he might not be able to remember it come Friday.
Malone arrived at the parade wearing a hilarious shirt that played off his "put that in your pipe and smoke it" line from Denver's conference finals matchup against the Lakers.
The 51-year-old had himself a few throughout the event, from chugging drinks on the bus to taking shots with players on the stage.
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Malone also chugged a White Claw he caught from a fan and returned the favor by passing our beers to the crowd.
He even sprayed some champagne on fans.
There were some great Malone moments from behind the microphone as well. First, he got emotional during an interview with Altitude Sports as he described how the championship triumph had finally hit him.
He then went from emotional to impassioned as he looked ahead to defending the championship crown. Malone declared to Altitude Sports: "We’re not done yet. We’re some greedy b*******, baby. We’re some greedy b*******. We’re getting another one.”
He later made another declaration, this time telling the parade-goers that sixth man Bruce Brown, who could hit free agency in a couple of weeks, would be part of the Nuggets' repeat bid next season.
"Is [Bruce Brown] going anywhere? Hell no. Hell no," Malone exclaimed. "We're running this s*** back. We're running this s*** back. Hell yeah. C'mon, get loud. Get loud."
Simply a championship parade performance for the ages.
