Michael Malone got unusual tattoo to celebrate Nuggets’ NBA title

Feb 5, 2020; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone reacts during the fourth quarter against the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Malone has gone full Rick Pitino.

TMZ Sports reported Tuesday that the Denver Nuggets head coach Malone got a tattoo on his left arm to celebrate the team’s NBA championship win. Malone decided on a tattoo of Maxie the Miner, the first-ever mascot of the Nuggets as a franchise, holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The report adds that Malone got the ink at Mike Diaz’s Triple W Tattoos in Colorado. It is said to be only the second-ever tattoo for Malone (and his first in decades).

Here is a photo of Malone posing with his new tattoo as well as with the artist who did it for him (reposted by Mike Singer of The Denver Post).

When Michael met Maxie… https://t.co/00cRzLhvfm

— Mike Singer (@msinger) June 20, 2023

For the 51-year-old Malone, that is a pretty unusual choice. Maxie became the Nuggets’ mascot all the way back in 1974, predating the team’s move from the ABA to the NBA. The mascot got phased out in 1981, long before even the oldest player on Denver’s championship team (36-year-old Jeff Green) was born.

We suppose that is a nice way to pay tribute to the history of the Nuggets as a franchise, especially with this being their first-ever title victory. But give it a few years and Malone’s tattoo might end up aging like this fellow coach’s.