Karl Malone
Teams
Utah Jazz - 1985-03
Los Angeles Lakers - 2003-04
Playoffs
Appearances - 19 (1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004)
Conference Finals - 6 (1992,1994,1996,1997,1998,2004)
NBA Finals - 3 (1997,1998,2004)
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
MVP - 2 (1997,1998,1999)
All-NBA First Team - 11 (1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000)
All-NBA Second Team - 2 (1988,1989,1990,1991,1993,1994,2000)
All-NBA Third Team - 1 (2001)
Hall of Fame - 2010
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Points - #2
Total Rebounds - #8
Total Steals - #12
Points Per Game - #12
Rebounds Per Game - #56
Total Assists - #58
Total Blocks - #70
Field Goal Percentage - #83
League Leads
Total Points (#2-1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1996,1997,1998, #3-1995,1999,2000, #4-1988,1994)
Points Per Game (#2-1989,1990,1991,1992,1997, #3-1993,1998,1999, #4-1995,1996, #5-1988,1994,2000)
Total Rebounds (#2-1988, #3-1990,1991, #5-1995)
Rebounds Per Game (#4-1988,1990,1991, #5-1989)
Field Goal Percentage (#4-1990)
After averaging 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds as a senior at Louisiana Tech, Karl Malone was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the #13 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
Malone came off the bench 5 times in his rookie year, the only 5 games of his career where he was not a starter. He averaged a respectable 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds as a rookie, and helped the Jazz, led by Adrian Dantley, to reach the playoffs, something Malone would accomplish in all 19 of his NBA seasons, but they lost in the first round that year.
After Dantley was traded away that summer, Malone became the team's star player. He averaged 21.7 points and 10.4 rebounds in his second season, the first of 17 straight seasons where he would average at least 20 points per game, a feat surpassed only by LeBron James, who just had his 18th in a row last year.
Malone was named to his first All-Star team the next year, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team after averaging 27.7 points and a career high 12.0 rebounds per game. He also led the Jazz to a playoff series victory for the first time in his career, beating Portland in the first round, but the defending champion Lakers beat Utah in 7 games in the second round.
The next year he raised his scoring average to 29.1 per game, making him the runner-up to Michael Jordan in the scoring race, something that would become a pattern for Malone, as he would finish as the runner-up a record 5 times, all to Michael Jordan. He was named to the All-NBA First Team that year for the first time, and would make it in each of the next 10 years as well, with those 11 selections eclipsed only by LeBron James' 13.
He set a career high in scoring the next year, pouring in 31.0 per game, again finishing as the runner-up to Jordan, and his Jazz lost in the first round of the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 years. They would reach the second round the next year, but it wasn't until his 7th season that he would see the Jazz make a deep run in the playoffs.
That year, 1991-92, saw Malone average 28.0 points and 11.2 rebounds, his 4th straight season finishing #2 in scoring. He was just as good in the playoffs, leading Utah all the way to the Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, but Portland ended the Jazz season in 6 games to advance to the Finals.
He was able to lead the Jazz back to the Conference Finals again in 1994 and 1996, losing to Houston in 1994 and Seattle 2 years later, and at that point Malone had played 11 seasons without making the Finals, but he would finally change that the next year.
In 1996-97, Malone led the Jazz to 64 wins, the most in team history, averaging 27.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, and winning the MVP award for the first time. He led the Jazz to the NBA Finals for the first time in their history that year after knocking off Houston in the Conference Finals, leading to a matchup with Michael Jordan and the Bulls, who knocked the Jazz off in 6 games.
Malone was great again the next year, averaging 27.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and finishing as the MVP runner-up. He led the Jazz to the best record in the league, and all the way back to the Finals for a rematch with the Bulls, but once again, it ended with Utah losing in 6 games, keeping Malone from becoming a champion yet again.
Malone won his second MVP the next season, even though his averages dipped to 23.8 points and 9.4 rebounds, both his lowest in 12 years. Utah was a favorite to win the championship that year, but fell to Portland in the second round of the playoffs, which is the farthest he would get in the playoffs with Utah after that point.
He played 4 more seasons with the Jazz, still averaging over 20 points per game each year, but the Jazz were not contending for a championship anymore, even though they continued to make the playoffs. When John Stockton retired in 2003, Malone left as a free agent to sign with the Lakers, winners of 3 recent titles, to try to win a championship.
In his first 18 seasons, Malone had missed a total of 10 games, 3 due to suspensions, but in his lone season with the Lakers, he suffered his first major injury, a knee injury that caused him to miss 39 games. He returned before the playoffs, and averaged 11.5 points in the playoffs, but he was injured again in the Finals, missing the final game as the Lakers fell to the Pistons in 5 games. Malone spent much of the next season as a free agent before deciding to retire shortly before the end of the season rather than make another attempt at winning a title.
Karl Malone is one of the greatest players to never win a championship, and he is the greatest player to never lead the league in any major statistical category. He is the all-time leader in free throws made and attempted, as well as games started, both testaments to his durability. He is #2 on the all-time scoring list, behind only Kareem, and won 2 MVP awards somewhat late in his career, and he was so good for so long that there is no doubt that he is one of the greatest to ever play the game.
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