Karl Malone, American basketball player and coach
Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spent his first 18 seasons (1985–2003) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Utah Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate John Stockton. He was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and an 11-time member of the All-NBA first team. His 36,928 career points scored rank third all-time in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James, and he holds the records for most free throws attempted and made, in addition to being tied for the second-most first-team All-NBA selections with Kobe Bryant and behind LeBron James.Malone played college basketball at Louisiana Tech University. In his three seasons with Louisiana Tech, he helped the Bulldogs basketball team to its first-ever NCAA tournament in 1984 and to first place in the Southland Conference in 1985. The Utah Jazz selected him in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft with the 13th overall pick. Malone appeared in the playoffs every season in his career, including the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 with the Jazz. He played his final season with the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he played his third Finals in 2004. Malone also competed with the United States national team in the Summer Olympic Games of 1992 and 1996; in both years he won gold medals. In 1996, as part of the NBA's 50th Anniversary, Malone was honored as one of the 50 greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team. In October 2021, Malone was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.After retiring from the NBA, Malone joined the staff of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team in 2007 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 twice – for his individual career, and as a member of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team.