Moses Malone

Moses Malone (born March 23, 1955, in Petersburg, Virginia), is a former NBA basketball player who also played on the ABA, as well as on many NBA squads, such as the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs. Malone played 21 seasons in the NBA. Before retiring from basketball, he was the last ABA participant to still be playing on the NBA.

Malone graduated from Petersburg High School to the ABA, being hired by the Utah Stars in 1974. He was the first basketball player to jump straight from high school into the professional leagues.

In two seasons in the ABA, Malone averaged 18 points and 14 rebounds per game. He played with the Stars and the St. Louis Spirits.

After the ABA was merged with the NBA, Malone became a member of the Buffalo Braves, having been drafted by the Portland Trailblazers but traded to the Braves after the draft. After a short period of time there, he was shipped to the Houston Rockets. He caused an immediate impact in Houston, helping make the franchise a espectable one and reaching the NBA Finals in 1981, where they lost in six games to Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics. Malone was named the NBA's MVP that season.

After averaging 31 points per game the next season, he repeated as the NBA's MVP. He was, however, traded to the Philadelphia Sixers over the course of the next summer. In Philadelphia, he teamed up with Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Darryl Dawkins and Bobby Jones, among others, to win his only NBA championship, when the Sixers swept Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1983 NBA Finals. Said head coach Billy Cuningham "The difference from last year was Moses" (the Lakers had beaten the Sixers in the 1982 NBA Finals). Malone was named MVP of the 1983 Finals, as well as league MVP for the third time in a row.

During the 1986-87 season, he was traded to the Bullets, but not before playing one season with legend in the making Charles Barkley. Once again, Malone helped his team reach a level of respectability with the Bulllets, as they reached the NBA playoffs during the two seasons that Malone played with them. Malone then went on to star alongside Dominique Wilkins and Spud Webb on the Mike Fratello coached Atlanta Hawks of 1987-1988, 1988-1989 and 1989-1990. The Hawks eached the playoffs during his first season there, losing to the Celtics in a seven game semifinal that is considered by NBA experts among the best series of all time during Malone's first season as a Hawk. In 1990, the Hawks barely missed the playoffs, with a 41-41 record.

Malone then went on to the Milwaukee Bucks during the 1990-1991 season, remaining there until the summer of 1992. Once again, he helped his team reach the playoffs each of those seasons.

Malone then rejoined the Sixers for a short period of time, participating with Manute Bol in what would be an injury plagued 1992-1993 season. In 1994, he was sent to the Spurs, where he played the back-up center role behind superstar David Robinson. 1994-1995 was his last season in the NBA. During one game that season, he hit a last second, three point shot thrown from the free throw line on the opposition's side of the court (3 quarters off the court away from his team's basket).

Malone became the first player in NBA history to earn five consecutive rebounds titles five consecutive years after the 1984-1985 season, when he averaged 13 rebounds per game. During the latter years of his basketball career, he was also known for wearing thick glasses during games.

Malone helped his high school team to 50 wins in a row, and a number of state championships. As a professional, he is one of the NBA's all time leaders in many categories, including points scored and rebounds. He was second only to Wilt Chamberlain in free thrrows, with a total of 11,090 of those.

Malone was named one of the NBA's 50 greatest players in 1997. In 2001, he was inducted into the Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame.