Moses Malone

Moses Eugene Malone Sr. (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was an American professional basketball player whose career spanned the ABA and NBA from 1974 to 1995. Playing as a center, he earned three NBA Most Valuable Player awards, appeared in 12 NBA All-Star Games, and was selected to eight All-NBA Teams. In 1983, he guided the Philadelphia 76ers to an NBA championship, capturing both the league MVP and Finals MVP that season. He entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001, his first year of eligibility, and is considered among the greatest centers and players in basketball history.

Malone turned professional straight out of high school after being chosen in the third round of the 1974 ABA draft by the Utah Stars. He made the ABA All-Star team as a rookie and spent two seasons in the league before its 1976 merger with the NBA. He entered the NBA with the Buffalo Braves, who traded him after just two games to the Houston Rockets. Over six seasons in Houston, he became a five-time All-Star.

After leading the NBA in rebounding in 1979, he won his first MVP award. He took the Rockets to the NBA Finals in 1981 and claimed his second MVP in 1982. Traded to Philadelphia the next season, he repeated as MVP and led the 76ers to the 1983 title. During his first stint with the 76ers, he was an All-Star in all four seasons.

After another trade, he earned All-Star honors in both of his seasons with the Washington Bullets. He signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks and made his 12th straight and final NBA All-Star appearance in his first year there. He later played for the Milwaukee Bucks, returned to the 76ers, and finished his career with the San Antonio Spurs.

Known for his relentless, physical style, Malone led the NBA in rebounding six times, including a then-record five consecutive seasons from 1981 to 1985. His rebounding earned him the nickname "Chairman of the Boards." He retired as the all-time leader in offensive rebounds, having led both the ABA and NBA in that category a combined nine times. Combining his ABA and NBA totals, he ranks tenth all-time in points (29,580) and third in total rebounds (17,834). He was named to the ABA All-Time Team, as well as the NBA’s 50th and 75th anniversary teams.

Malone was born in Petersburg, Virginia, and raised primarily by his mother, Mary, who left school after the fifth grade. When he was two, she forced her husband out of the home due to his drinking; Malone’s father then moved to Texas. Malone attended Petersburg High School, where his basketball team went undefeated in his final two years, winning 50 straight games and back-to-back Virginia state championships. He signed a letter of intent to play college basketball at the University of Maryland under coach Lefty Driesell.

The Utah Stars selected Malone in the third round of the 1974 ABA Draft, making him the first modern professional basketball player to enter the league directly from high school. He signed a five-year, $1 million contract and began his pro career playing forward before bulking up to handle center. As a rookie, he was an ABA All-Star and made the ABA All-Rookie team. In the 1975 ABA Playoffs, he averaged 22.7 points, 17.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game in a first-round loss to the Denver Nuggets. After his rookie season, the Chicago Bulls tried to draft him in the tenth round of the 1975 NBA draft, but the selection was ruled invalid due to the NBA’s four-year rule.

Malone missed most of the 1975–76 season with a leg injury while with Utah. When the Stars folded 16 games into the season, he was sold to the ABA’s Spirits of St. Louis—along with teammates Ron Boone, Randy Denton, and Steve Green—to help pay off Utah’s debts. He played the rest of the season for the Spirits, who finished 35–49 and missed the playoffs. Over his two ABA seasons, Malone averaged 17.2 points and 12.9 rebounds per game.

After the ABA–NBA merger, the Spirits were not among the ABA teams that joined the NBA. Malone had been selected by the New Orleans Jazz in a pre-merger draft for ABA players of undergraduate age, but the NBA allowed the Jazz to place him in the 1976 ABA Dispersal Draft pool in exchange for the return of their 1977 first-round pick. In that dispersal draft, the Portland Trail Blazers picked Malone fifth overall. Portland, already deep with frontcourt players Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas, and Lloyd Neal, traded him to the Buffalo Braves before the 1976–77 season for a 1978 first-round pick and $232,000. After just two games with Buffalo, the Braves traded him to the Houston Rockets for first-round picks in 1977 and 1978.