Former NBA head coach Brendan Malone dies at age 81

Brendan Malone (Google Images)

According to Thomas Schlachter of CNN on Tuesday, former National Basketball Association head coach Brendan Malone of New York City, New York passed away on Tuesday at the age of 81. Malone spent two seasons coaching in the NBA. He is best known as the very first head coach in the history of the Toronto Raptors franchise in 1995-96. Malone later was in charge of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2004-05, and took over from Paul Silas on an interim basis.

Interestingly, Paul Silas passed away on December 10, 2022 at the age of 79. The sons of Silas and Malone went on to also coach in the NBA. Stephen Silas was the head coach of the Houston Rockets from 2020 to 2023, and is now the assistant coach of the Detroit Pistons. Mike Malone meanwhile has become the very successful coach of the Denver Nuggets that won the 2023 NBA Finals. He has also coached the Sacramento Kings.

Even though Brendan Malone coached in the NBA, he was not all that successful as a head coach. He posted a record of 29 wins and 71 losses in exactly 100 games for a winning percentage of .290.

Where Brendan Malone had his most success came as an assistant coach. He was with the Detroit Pistons when they won the NBA Finals in 1989 and 1990, working under Chuck Daly. Interestingly, when Malone came to Toronto, he was hired by former Pistons Hall of Famer and Raptors executive vice-president Isiah Thomas. As an assistant coach, Malone was with the New York Knicks (1986 to 1988, 1996 to 2000, and 2003 to 2004), the Pistons (1988 to 1995 and 2014 to 2016), the Indiana Pacers (2000 to 2003), the Cavaliers (2004 to 2005), and the Orlando Magic (2007 to 2012).

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