Moses Malone (March 23, 1955 – September 13, 2015) was a former American professional basketball player who played as a center. (Image from IC photo)
In the 1974 ABA Draft, Utah Starlight didn't pick the 19-year-old high school student until the third round. Malone weighed 215 pounds at the time, and his debut season was 1974-75, playing in 83 games, averaging 18.8 points and 14.6 rebounds, and his blockbuster performance made him an All-Star and All-Rookie Team that season. (Image from IC photo)
On December 2, 1975, the financially crisis was forced to sell Malone midway to the St. Louis Spirits. This is Malone's final season at the ABA, where he played 43 games for his new club, averaging 14.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. (Image from IC photo)
In both seasons at the ABA, Malone averaged 17.2 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. In 1976, Malone's ABA career ended with a merger with the NBA, and he immediately joined the NBA league. (Image from IC photo)
In the 1975–76 season, the ABA merged with the NBA, and the St. Louis Spirits were the few ABA teams that did not join the NBA. At the ABA Player Disband Draft on August 5 of that year, Malone was picked by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 5th pick in the first round. Malone, 21, did not play for the Blazers, who sent him to the Buffalo Braves before the start of the 1976-77 season in exchange for a first-round pick in 1978. (Image from IC photo)
Malone's second NBA season in 1977-78 ended prematurely due to a stress fracture in his right foot, so he missed the Rockets' final 23 games. Still, he's the league's frontcourt rebounding champion (380) and averaging 15 rebounds per game is still second in the league, behind Leonard Robinson (15.7). In 1978, Malone competed in the All-Star Game. (Image from IC photo)
In 1979–80, Malone averaged 25.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game, ranking fifth on the individual scoring list and behind Sven Nutt (15 rebounds per game). In addition, Malone was named to the All-Star Game for the third consecutive year, which was also the second consecutive year that he appeared on the stage of the All-Star Game as a starter. At the end of the season, Malone was named to the second team of the Year. The Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs 2-1 in the first round, and in the fateful third game, Malone scored 37 points and 20 rebounds. However, in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Rockets were swept by the Celtics. (Image from IC photo)
In 1982–83, Malone was awarded the regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP) honor, and he became the first player in league history to win two consecutive regular season MVPs, both of which were won on both teams. Of the four major sports in North America, Malone's record was not broken until 1993 by Barry Bonders. (Image from IC photo)
In 1983-84, Malone won the league's rebounding champion honor for the fourth consecutive year, the fifth time in his career, when he averaged 13.4 rebounds per game. (Image from IC photo)
Shortly after the end of the 1985–86 season, Moses Malone was traded to the Washington Bullets, along with Terry Carterage and two first-round picks, with the Bullets sending Jeff Roland and Cliff Robinson. (Image from IC photo)
In his 21-year basketball career, Moses Malone scored 29,580 points, ranking seventh in history after Leh-Jabbar, Carl Malone, Michael Jordan, Kobe, Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Irving. He grabbed 17,834 rebounds, second only to Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, third in history. In addition, his number of free throw hits (9018) and free throw shots (11864) are the second highest in history. (Image from IC photo)