Michael Malone grew up among NBA coaching circles, so he understands that there are only 30 head-coaching jobs in the league, and if your first shot doesn’t go quite as planned, you might not get another one.

Malone’s father, Brendan, has been coaching in the NBA since 1986, but he got only one head-coaching opportunity: a single season to try to create a miracle for the expansion Toronto Raptors in 1995-96.

Michael Malone wondered if he would endure a similar fate after being fired by the Sacramento Kings in December, when the Kings were 11-13 (.458) and playing some of their best ball in years. Tyrone Corbin followed Malone with a 7-21 record (.250), and George Karl went 11-19 (.367) in the final 30 games of the season.

In the offseason, dysfunction led the Sacramento headlines as Karl and center DeMarcus Cousins publicly feuded and owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Vlade Divac didn’t seem to know how to address the glitches.

“Everything after I got fired in December only validated the job my staff was doing,” Malone said in a phone interview Monday. “Everything kind of went haywire after that, and in the end, it was a perfect scenario. …

“By the end of it, I looked like John Wooden.”

Denver saw some of that in Malone when the Nuggets decided to give him another chance at a head-coaching gig in June. The Nuggets also had just watched the Warriors win the championship, showcasing some of the very players Malone developed and some of the very defensive principles he installed as the team’s lead assistant from 2011 through ’13.

Malone was doing broadcast work for NBA TV during the 2015 NBA Finals, and he found himself clouded about cheering for LeBron James, who he coached in Cleveland from 2005 through ’10, and Stephen Curry, whom he coached with Golden State.

“I was conflicted, but there was a part of me that was really rooting for Golden State,” Malone said. “LeBron has already won a couple of championships, and he’ll win another couple before his career is over. I do want the fans in Cleveland to win a championship, but the fans in the Bay Area are also great fans.

“I was thrilled to see (the Warriors’ players) get their get first title.”

When Malone returns to Oracle Arena for Tuesday’s exhibition game, it’ll be the first time he has seen many of the Warriors since they celebrated their title. He said he’ll make sure to congratulate Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson — players who owe a bit of their championship growth to Malone.

Malone also will seek out Warriors general manager Bob Myers, who has widely supported the coach. Malone also said owner Joe Lacob and former GM Larry Riley deserve a lot of credit for creating a championship roster.

Actually, Malone tried to credit just about everyone but himself.

“The credit goes to the players,” Malone said. “I give Mark Jackson a ton of credit, and then obviously, I give a ton of credit to Coach (Steve) Kerr. I have so much respect for him, because so many coaches would have come into that situation and tried to change everything and taken the credit for everything. He showed so much character in giving Mark Jackson and the previous coaching staff so much credit.

“It’s a feel-good story for a great group of guys who have worked very hard.”

Malone has been coaching since 1994, when he took an assistant-coaching job at Oakland University in Michigan. He worked six more seasons in the college ranks before getting his break with the New York Knicks in 2001.

He advanced in responsibility with the Knicks for four seasons before going on a run of developing the game’s best players in Cleveland (James), New Orleans (Chris Paul) and Golden State (Curry). Now, he has taken his wife, Jocelyn, and two daughters, Caitlin and Bridget, to Denver to start molding 2015 No. 7 overall pick Emmanuel Mudiay.

Malone uses stories about James, Paul and Curry all the time when addressing his squad in Denver — a roster that includes eight players in their first or second seasons. Mudiay is very inquisitive, but when Malone tells stories about coaching champions, MVPs and All-Stars, the rookie listens even more intently.

“When he hears about how hard they work and about their commitment to the game, hopefully it will help him understand how hard he has to work as a young player in the NBA,” Malone said. “Nothing is given in this league.

“Everything is earned.”

Especially second chances.

Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: rsimmons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron

Tuesday’s game

Who: Nuggets at Warriors

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: Oracle Arena

TV/Radio: CSNBA/680

Five things to watch

1. Coming home: The Warriors have played a preseason game in San Jose, but Tuesday night will mark the team’s first appearance at Oracle Arena since Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

2. Energy levels: Interim head coach Luke Walton said the team’s energy in Friday, Sunday and Monday practices was much better than the practice ahead of Thursday’s loss in Portland.

3. Minute by minute: The next two games might be logical times to cut back on minutes for the Warriors’ starters, but Walton says that probably won’t happen at home. He plans to play his starters about 20-25 minutes.

4. Pick a matchup: Draymond Green-Kenneth Faried at power forward will be a study in Tasmanian Devil-level effort. Stephen Curry could try to school lottery-pick guard Emmanuel Mudiay.