Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player.
Born in Summerfield, Louisiana, he was nicknamed in college as the Mailman for his consistency ("the mailman always delivers") and his work in the post. Malone twice won the NBA Most Valuable Player award. He is generally considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history, and has scored the second most points in NBA history, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
On May 30, 2007, Malone was named director of basketball promotion and assistant strength and conditioning coach at his alma mater, Louisiana Tech University in Ruston.
Malone spent his first 18 seasons (1985-2003) as the star player for the Utah Jazz forming a formidable duo with his team mate John Stockton. He then played one season (2003-04) for the Los Angeles Lakers before retiring.
Even though his teams never won a championship, Malone was more famous for his extremely well-defined physique, which resembled that of a bodybuilder. Along with Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Dominique Wilkins, Elgin Baylor, Reggie Miller, Pete Maravich, and his longtime Jazz teammate John Stockton, he is considered to be one of the best players never to have won a championship.
Malone's jersey was retired on March 23, 2006, when the Jazz hosted the Washington Wizards. He was also honored with the unveiling of a bronze statue outside the EnergySolutions Arena next to teammate John Stockton, and the renaming of a portion of 100 South St. in Salt Lake City in his honor. The intersection where the Stockton and Malone statues stand is now the intersection of Stockton and Malone.
