Karl Malone Named To NBA 75th Anniversary Team
Oct 20, 2021, 3:08 PM | Updated: Feb 20, 2022, 7:55 pm
1998: Karl Malone #32 of the Utah Jazz in action during a game against the Houston Rockets (Getty: Otto Greule Jr )
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Jazz superstar Karl Malone has been named to the NBA 75th Anniversary team.
To honor the 75th anniversary, the league is releasing a list of the 75 best players to ever suit up in an NBA uniform. The list is being released in three batches of 25 players throughout the opening week of the regular season.
On Tuesday, the first list of 25 players was released which included Malone’s Jazz teammate John Stockton.
Both Stockton and Malone were also members of the NBA’s 50th-Anniversary team announced in 1996.
Karl Malone joins John Stockton on the NBA's 75th Anniversary team.#TakeNote | @utahjazz https://t.co/N6M8DJbJtS
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) October 20, 2021
Malone spent 18 of his 19 NBA seasons with the Jazz. The power forward nicknamed “The Mailman” retired as the league’s second all-time leading scorer with 36,928 points, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
During his illustrious career, Malone was named to 14 All-Star teams, 14 All-NBA teams, four All-Defensive Teams, was a two-time league MVP, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
The forward retired with career averages of 25.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.
Joining Malone On 75th Anniversary Team
In addition to Stockton and Malone, 48 other NBA legends have been named to the 75th Anniversary team.
The first 25 names released Tuesday included Abdul-Jabbar, Nate Archibald, Charles Barkley, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Julius Erving, George Gervin, Hal Greer, Elvin Hayes, Jerry Lucas, Moses Malone, Kevin McHale, Gerges Mikan, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Hakeem Olajuwon, Bob Pettit, Willis Reed, Oscar Robertson, David Robinson, and Bill Russell.
✔️ All-Time Assists Leader
✔️ All-Time Steals Leader
✔️ Basketball Hall of Fame
✔️ NBA 75th Anniversary Team#TakeNote | @UtahJazz https://t.co/0OApMFyfTl— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 20, 2021
Wednesday’s reveal included Paul Arizin, Rick Barry, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier, Allen Iverson, Magic Johnson, Sam Jones, Robert Parish, Chris Paul, Scottie Pippen, Nate Thurmond, Wes Unseld, Bill Walton, Wilt Chamberlain, Clyde Drexler, Kevin Garnett, John Havlicek, Michael Jordan, Bill Sharman, Isiah Thomas, Jerry West, and James Worthy.
The final 25 names will be released on TNT tomorrow.
