A month after losing his job as the Nuggets head coach, Michael Malone made a memorable debut on ESPN this Tuesday. Unfortunately, it was for the wrong reasons. During the live broadcast, he made a comment that did not sit well with the hoop community, especially Nuggets fans: “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he showed why he’s the MVP.” Of course, it was right after SGA’s dominant 31-point performance to beat Anthony Edwards and Co. in the West Finals opener. But many fans saw Malone’s statement as a shot at Nikola Jokic, the superstar he coached for nearly a decade. As expected, there was major backlash.

So, when Malone returned on television for his analyst gig tonight, he looked a bit more prepared, in more ways than one. And his ESPN colleagues, Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson, pointed it out on Live TV.

At halftime of the Thunder vs Wolves Game 2, Malone and the crew were getting ready to go on air. Breen and RJ described the visuals to the viewers at home, exposing the former head coach’s secret. “Look Stephen A. with the glam team behind him. There you got the full glam team.” Jefferson said, to which Breen responded, “We have to find if Michael Malone is putting on a lot of makeup or little makeup. He is a newbie to the business.”

Yes, the legendary announcer revealed that Malone was applying makeup before going on air. Obviously, it’s part of the process for every media personality on television. However, Malone is not used to it because he just started the ESPN gig a couple of days ago. Since 2003, up until last month, Mike was either on the coaching staff or the head coach of an NBA team. Sure, he did countless interviews and media appearances during that time, but he was always on the receiving end of the questions.

For the first time, he is on the opposite side because of his new role with ESPN, and Breen just wanted to highlight it. Malone is surely getting more comfortable with each appearance, as he even clarified the Jokic controversy during tonight’s broadcast.

But Malone hasn’t always downplayed Jokic’s greatness. In fact, just this March, he offered one of the strongest endorsements of Jokic’s MVP case you’ll find anywhere. “Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great player. And if he wins his first MVP, he’s deserving of that. My thing is this: If you didn’t know that Nikola won three MVPs, and I put ‘Player A’ and ‘Player B’ on paper, and you had no idea that the guy who’s averaging a triple-double, the guy who’s top-three in the major statistical categories (had already won three) … he wins the MVP 10 times out of 10. And if you don’t think so, I think you guys are all full of (c—).”

Clearly, this wasn’t a man questioning Jokic’s greatness — it was a head coach doing everything he could to elevate his star. The contrast now? Malone’s learning how to deliver truth on national TV — minus the locker room fire. While Malone was clarifying and recalibrating under ESPN’s bright lights, another former Nuggets coach wasn’t holding back. George Karl — who led Denver from 2005 to 2013 — took a direct shot on social media, posting:

“Jokic was the MVP again this season, and it wasn’t that close. But I guess I’m the only former Nuggets coach who knows that.” It was vintage Karl — blunt, performative, and unapologetic. And whether he meant it as friendly fire or not, the message was loud: some ex-coaches don’t need makeup to show face.

Malone may be adjusting to the lights, the glam, and the analyst’s chair — but in today’s NBA discourse, even legends get no grace period. That said, Michael is surely getting more comfortable with each appearance, as he even clarified the Jokic controversy during tonight’s broadcast.

Michael Malone makes stance clear about Nikola Jokic after controversial Shai Gilgeous-Alexander comment

When Malone deemed SGA the MVP on Tuesday, Nuggets fans were not pleased with his take. But now that the former head coach is no longer associated with the Denver franchise and needs to give his honest analysis on television, he cannot be biased toward any of his former players. Despite that, Mike had a change of heart when he went on air tonight, as he revealed his stance on Jokic in the MVP race, “I did vote for him (Jokic) again this year, if I had a vote. I wanna make sure the people in Denver know that because right now, I’m getting a lot of heat back home.”

Yes, Malone claimed that he would have picked Jokic to win MVP if he had a vote. Unfortunately, he has no say in the matter because a media panel of 100 members decides who wins the prestigious award, and Malone is not part of it.

Per the results, only 29 voters picked ‘The Joker’ to win MVP, whereas the remaining favored Shai. Despite not having a vote, Malone got bombarded with criticism from several fuming fans because of his comments. But to give you the full picture — this wasn’t the first time Malone acknowledged the MVP race’s complexity. Back in March, while still coaching the Nuggets, he said: “MVP, what it means for you might be different from what it means for (another voter). And again, I’ll never negative-recruit. Shai is not a good player; (he’s) a great player. And if he wins it, I’ll actually clap my hands and be happy for him. … So it’s not Nikola vs. Shai [for me].”

Even so, he will likely be more cautious about what he says the next time he is doing a game analysis on ESPN. Thoughts?