“Malone could score when he had hair, and he could score when the hair was gone” - Shaun Powell talks about Karl Malone’s ridiculous scoring levels, says it’s a mark of an all-time great

Karl Malone had a remarkable NBA career, mostly with the Utah Jazz, and is well-deserving of being in the NBA 75th anniversary team. NBA writer Shaun Powell was tasked with writing the NBA archive article of the highlights of Malone’s career, highlighting the reasons for him being on the list of 75 players on the NBA 75th anniversary team.

In his career, Malone, or often known and the “Mailman,” was a two-time MVP, 14-time All-Star and All-NBA, and a Hall-of-Famer. He averaged 25 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in his 19-year career.

He averaged over 20 points every season other than the first and last of his career, leading him to have the second-most points in NBA history with 36928 total points throughout his career.

In his article recapping Malone’s incredible career, Powell talked about Malone’s scoring constancy and longevity throughout his career. Powell wrote,

“Malone could score when he had hair, and he could score when the hair was gone. That’s the mark of an all-time great, someone who endured and lasted and performed at a high level for two decades. Malone was a 14-time All-Star and 11-time member of the All-NBA First Team. In the 1999-2000 season Malone — at age 37 — became the oldest player to score 50 points in a game.”

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In the 1999-2000 season, Malone averaged 25.5 points but would have three more seasons averaging over 20 points and would retire at 40 years old. Something can be said about his longevity and ability to be available, playing over 70 games in all but two of his seasons in the NBA.

Karl Malone is the greatest NBA player not to win an NBA title

Karl Malone on the Lakers diving on the floor in his final NBA season

Karl Malone could never win an NBA title despite all his individual accomplishments in his three appearances. Two of his appearances came in back-to-back seasons,1996-98, with the Utah Jazz, and his final one came in the last season of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, 2003-04.

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One of the main reasons Malone retired without an NBA championship has a big deal is that he had to face Michael Jordan twice in the NBA Finals. Both times he faced off against Jordan, the Jazz lost to the Chicago Bulls 4-2.

From 1993-96, the Jazz lost to each team that won the Western Conference three seasons before that. The seasons after was the decline of Malone’s career as he was already 35 in the 1998-99 season.

His Finals appearance with the Lakers was a ring-chasing run. The Lakers had won three of their last four NBA titles. However, the Lakers were surprised by the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, and Malone never got his ring.

One of the saddest things in NBA history is that Karl Malone could never win an NBA championship. He ran into some good Western Conference teams, then arguably the greatest player of all time, and then he was at the tail end of his career.