Malone, Karl

▪ American athlete

in full  Karl Anthony Malone 

born July 24, 1963, Summerfield, Louisiana, U.S.

      American basketball player, who owns the National Basketball Association (NBA) career record for free throws attempted (13,188) and made (9,787). He is also second in career points scored (36,928), field goals made (13,528), and minutes played (54,852). Malone, known as the “Mailman” because he always “delivered,” was named one of the NBA's 50 all-time greatest players.

      After a successful collegiate career at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Malone entered the NBA in 1985 as a first-round draft pick of the Utah Jazz. Standing 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 metres) tall and weighing 260 pounds (117.5 kg), the muscular player quickly established himself as the dominant power forward in the league. He and point guard John Stockton ran the pick-and-roll play to perfection with Stockton piling up assists and Malone piling up points. He was a skillful shooter and rebounder and a determined defender. While the Jazz failed to win a championship during his career, Malone did lead the team into the NBA Finals in 1998 and 1999. He was named to the All-NBA first team 11 times and won gold medals at the Olympics in 1992 and 1996. He was twice named the NBA's Most Valuable Player (1997, 1999). In 2003 Malone left the Jazz and played his final season (2003–04) with the Los Angeles Lakers.

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