UNC Highlights LeBron, Steph Curry, CP3 Among NBA Stars Michael Malone Developed in Trending Photo

Any North Carolina men's basketball fan worried about new head coach Michael Malone's ability to develop players perhaps shouldn't be that concerned.

After all, he had a hand in quite a number of notable NBA careers.

The program took to social media Saturday and posted an image that said "player development" with Malone at the center surrounded by players such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokić, Chris Paul, Draymond Green, Jamal Murray, Klay Thompson and more:

At first glance, it is easy to have some fun with the idea that Malone "developed" all of these players.

After all, James was already an All-NBA selection and All-Star well on his way to greatness by the time Malone arrived as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005-06. Paul was already a three-time All-Star who finished second in MVP voting before the coach was an assistant for the New Orleans Hornets for one season in 2010-11.

Still, it is also a reminder to recruits and those in the transfer portal that Malone has been around basketball excellence for much of his professional life and understands what it takes to reach the sport's mountaintop.

He also surely helped many of these players elevate their games to another level. 

Two of Curry's best three seasons in terms of three-point percentage came when Malone was an assistant for the Golden State Warriors in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Jokić went from an overlooked second-round draft pick into arguably the best player in the entire NBA when Malone was the head coach of the Denver Nuggets for 10 seasons.

Denver also won the championship with Jokić and Murray leading the way under the coach's tutelage during the 2022-23 campaign.

Would many of these players reached incredible highs and NBA superstardom without Malone? Of course.

But in the age of NIL, the transfer portal and ever-important recruiting, it also doesn't hurt to remind the sport just how much talent he has coached throughout his career.

And that is exactly what North Carolina did Saturday.