Michael Malone definitely had the time of day on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Lakers made waves this week with their comments about the defending champion Denver Nuggets. The two sides have significant history, having met in two of the last four postseasons. Last season, it was the Nuggets coming out on top with a four-game sweep of the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals en route to winning the NBA title.
At Media Day, Anthony Davis issued a big warning for Denver coming from him and his co-star LeBron James. Lakers teammate Austin Reaves followed suit too, saying that the team felt especially motivated by the Nuggets’ post-victory antics.
On Wednesday, it was the Nuggets head coach Malone’s turn to respond.
“Oh, they’re talking about us?” said Malone, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “That was what, four months ago? … If they’re still worried about us, that’s on them … If we’re on their minds, then I guess that’s on them.”
To be fair, Malone himself did a lot to antagonize the Lakers. While his players were mostly reserved after their victory, Malone, irritated by the media’s constant coverage of the Lakers, made sure to rub in his team’s sweep of the purple and gold every chance that he got. At one point, even LeBron James seemed to think Malone was out of pocket and seemingly fired back at him.
Granted, that is Malone’s right as the coach who took down the Lakers and eventually led his team to their first-ever championship in franchise history. To the victor goes the spoils, and if the Lakers don’t like it, they will just have to try their best to knock the Nuggets off their perch next season.
