The Denver Nuggets have been one of the most surprising teams in the NBA this year. After barely making the playoffs last season, they earned the two seed in the West this time around, pushing the Golden State Warriors for the conference's top overall record until the final week of the regular season.

Much of the credit for the Nuggets' success is being given to head coach Michael Malone. His system is all about unselfishness and patience, sharing the basketball until the perfect opportunity to score presents itself. It is one of the reasons why people have started to compare him to San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

However, Malone believes that he hasn't reached Popovich's status yet. In an interview with Mike Singer of the Denver Post, the veteran coach admitted that he's not even close to Pop at the moment.

“Listen, that’s a Mike Tyson knockout if you’re comparing Gregg Popovich and Michael Malone,” he said. “The guy’s arguably the best coach in NBA history. For us, we always worry about ourselves first.”

Malone might not be in the same breath as Popovich, but he will have the opportunity to out-coach one of the best in the business in Denver's first-round series against San Antonio. The Nuggets have home-court advantage against the Spurs, and they arguably have a better roster.

However, Malone and the Nuggets understand how great a coach Popovich is, and they are wise not to count him out. Denver will have to play the same way they did all season: unselfish and patient. Coach Malone understands that because it's exactly the exact same philosophy Popovich will use in this series.