Karl "the Mailman" Malone is among the greatest power forwards to play professional basketball. Malone has been a mainstay in the Utah Jazz lineup for more than a dozen years. In this age of free agency, it is hard to find a player that has played for the same team his whole career. Malone and point guard John Stockton have formed the most consistent guard-forward combination and have made the Utah Jazz one of the league's most successful franchises for more than a decade.
Malone played college basketball at Louisiana Tech University. From his sophomore through his senior season he led the Bulldogs in scoring and rebounding. Over his college career, Malone averaged 18.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and left the the school with a .566 career field-goal percentage.
Malone was the 13th overall pick by the Utah Jazz in the 1985 NBA Draft. He was a relatively unknown player coming out of college, but he quickly established himself averaging 14.9 ppg and 8.9 rpg during his rookie season. Since his rookie year, Malone has not average less than 21.7 points or 9.8 rebounds in any season. Malone has been an All-Star selection every season since 1987 and he has been on the All-NBA First Team ever since 1989. Karl was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1989 All-Star Game and co-MVP (along with John Stockton) of the 1993 All-Star Game. Malone helped led USA Men's Basketball team, named the "greatest team in the history of the world", to gold medals in 1992 and 1996. After many playoff appearances, Malone finally reached the NBA Finals in 1997 against the Chicago Bulls. Malone's Jazz were unable to win the series, but Karl was named the the NBA Most Valuable Player for the 1996-97 season.
Malone and the Jazz reached the NBA finals again 1998, only to lose to the Chicago Bulls again. Karl captured his second MVP trophy in the 1998-99 season, his second in three years. In the 1998-99 season, Malone became the first player to be named to the All-NBA Team 11 times. On November 11, 1999, Karl became only the fourth player in NBA history to score more than 29,000 points.
Although Malone loves the game of basketball and is grateful for his basketball skills, Karl strongly believes God put him here to help people. His beliefs prompted Malone and his wife Kay to found the Karl Malone Foundation for Kids to help children and their families through difficult times and hope to better the family environment in their home community. Karl directed his Iba Award funds to the Karl Malone Foundation For Kids. Malone is an also an active supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the National and Local Chapters for the Prevention of Child Abuse, the Children's Justice Center, and the Special Olympics.
A few career highlights:
- 14 time NBA All-Star selection
- 3 time NBA All-Defensive First Team honors
- 2 time NBA Most Valuable Player, only nine players in NBA history have won the award twice
- 11 time All-NBA First Team selection
- Has scored more than 29,000 points
- 1992 and 1996 Olympic Gold Medal for Men's Basketball
- NBA Finals 1997, 1998