After Moses Malone made the unheard of jump from high school to the NBA back in 1974, many wondered how he could pass up the chance for a free education at college. 20 years later, nobody questioned the decision he made back in ’74. A twelve time NBA All Star and 3 time MVP, Moses Malone was a superstar by the time that most players were rookies just entering the league.
Moses had an amazing sense of where a basketball would end up after bouncing off the rim. Malone would u that skill to become the most dominant rebounder of his era. The most amazing aspect of this is that although he once passes up a college education for the basketball court, Malone is now recognized as one of the games most knowledgeable teachers from his generation. He guided the careers of such young stars that were coming into the league such as, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin Willis, and Shawn Bradley. After Malone was done playing basketball his skill lived on in another generation of stars that eventually passed on the same knowledge when their careers came to an end.
Moses Malone played for the:
- San Antonio Spurs
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Atlanta Hawks
- Washington Bullets
- Houston Rockets
- Buffalo Braves
- St. Louis Spirits
- Utah Stars
Some of his career highlights were:
- National Basketball Association 587 offensive rebounds in 1979
- NBA basketball champion in 1983
- 3 time NBA Most Valuable Player
- 5 time NBA Rebounding champion
- 12 time NBA All Star selection
- All Time NBA free throw leader
Interesting Sports Facts about Moses Malone’s basketball career
- Malone was the most valuable player on one of the greatest teams in sports history. The 1983 76er won the NBA title, losing just one basketball game in the playoffs.
- Malone holds the honor of being the last ABA alumnus to play in the NBA. His 21 professional seasons surpassed Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s record for the longest term of service in professional basketball.
- Malone and his mother barely made ends meet when he was growing up in a small shack. The windows were broken, the roof leaked, the doors didn’t ose, the plumbing hardly ever worked and there were places in the wall where you could actually see through to the outside. The first thing that Moses did after signing with the Utah Stars was to immediately buy his mom a house in suburbia. The house that they had formally lived in was condemned and demolished by the city.
