Michael Malone has won plenty of basketball games in his coaching career, but none as the head coach of the UNC basketball program until Monday night.
Malone officially secured his first victory as head coach of the Tar Heels, beginning a new era of Carolina basketball with a win over Western Carolina inside the Dean Smith Center.
Season opener dub. 🐏 pic.twitter.com/ELHeVuEcr7
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) November 3, 2026
Once the final buzzer sounded, one of the men who knows exactly what it means to win at North Carolina made sure Malone had something to remember the night by.
Roy Williams presented Malone with the game ball.
Welcome to the Carolina family, Coach!
Steve Newmark and Roy Williams present Michael Malone with the game ball after his first win as #UNC head coach 80-72 over Western Carolina. pic.twitter.com/peu3fNqzlu
— Pat Welter WRAL (@PatrickWelter) November 3, 2026
Michael Malone officially has win No. 1 at North Carolina
There has been plenty of talk about just how different this season feels in Chapel Hill, and for good reason.
Malone is the first UNC head coach since Frank McGuire took over in 1952 who didn't previously play for the Tar Heels or serve as an assistant coach with the program.
Dean Smith.
Bill Guthridge.
Matt Doherty.
Roy Williams.
Hubert Davis.
Every UNC head coach over the last seven decades had an established connection to the program before taking over, but Malone snapped the streak.
He arrived in Chapel Hill after spending 24 seasons in the NBA, including 12 as a head coach and 10 leading the Denver Nuggets. He won an NBA championship in 2023 and became the winningest head coach in Nuggets history.
But Monday night was different. This was North Carolina.
Malone walked onto Roy Williams Court for the first regular-season game of his tenure and left it with his first victory as a Tar Heel.
Then came a pretty special passing-of-the-torch type of moment.
Williams, who won 485 games and three national championships during his legendary 18-year tenure at North Carolina, presented Malone with the game ball following the victory.
There's something fitting about that.
When Malone was hired in April, Williams publicly welcomed him to Chapel Hill and expressed his excitement about watching the NBA champion take over the program.
Months later, Williams was there to officially welcome him into the win column.
Malone has made it clear since arriving that he understands the responsibility that comes with coaching the UNC basketball program.
He's talked about respecting the history and embracing the Carolina family. His goal is to build on the traditions set by the legendary coaches who came before him.
On Monday night, the Tar Heels' newest head coach officially began that journey, and one of the greatest coaches in program history was there to hand him the game ball after win No. 1.
Without a doubt, that keepsake is something that Malone will hold onto for a very long time.
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