Soft Spoken NBA Hall of Famer Passes Away

He was soft spoken at times, but he had a game and a personality that captured the NBA world when he played. His entrance into the NBA gave the blueprint to a few of the NBA’s top talents of this era his influence had a major impact on a fellow Hall of Famer. He set a standard on how to play the position of center and his greatness on the court helped turn the teams he played on into championship contenders and he led the city of “Brotherly Love,” to the NBA’s ultimate prize. His career landed him in Springfield, MA and nearly two decades ago he along with 49 other NBA players pasted and present at that time were named to a great list. Last week, this amazing player and trail blazer passed on.

Hall of Famer, three-time MVP and 12-time NBA All-Star Moses Malone passed away a week ago in a hotel room Norfolk, VA from an apparent heart-attack according to ESPN.com. He was 60 years old.

The passing of Malone comes on the heels of the unfortunate death of another Sixers legend Malone's former teammate Darryl Dawkins, who passed away on Aug. 28 also from a heart attack. He was 58 years old.

Also according to that ESPN.com report, Malone was found in his hotel room after failing to arrive for a celebrity golf tournament. The Virginia medical examiner’s office said the next day that Malone passed away from a hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The passing was confirmed by Det. Jeffrey Scott of the Norfolk Police Department

“We are stunned and deeply saddened by the passing of Hall of Famer Moses Malone, an NBA legend gone far too soon,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement yesterday.

“Known to his legion of fans as the ‘Chairman of the Boards,’ Moses competed with intensity every time he stepped on the court. He was among the most dominant centers ever to play the game and one the best players in the history of the NBA and the ABA. Even more than his prodigious talent, we will miss his friendship, his generosity, his exuberant personality and the extraordinary work ethic he brought to the game throughout his 21-year pro career. Our thoughts are with Moses’ family and friends during this difficult time.

Future Hall of Famer and former Sixer Allen Iverson via twitter said seven days ago, “My condolences to the family and friends of Moses Malone. You will be truly missed. Rest in peace Big Mo!!”

A funeral for Malone was held at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX this past Saturday, formerly the former basketball arena of the Houston Rockets called The Summit where Malone started from 1976-82. In attendance among the estimated 1,200 were some of Malone’s former teammates on the Rockets like two championship head coach Rudy Tomjanovich; Rockets studio analyst and Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy, John Lucas and Major Jones. Also in attendance were his former teammates of the Philadelphia 76ers that he help win the 1983 NBA title with in Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J.” Erving and Maurice Cheeks; Hall of Famer and former teammate with the Atlanta Hawks Dominique Wilkins; former Rockets Ralph Sampson and Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler; Hall of Famers George Gervin, Artis Gilmore, Alex English and former Rocket swingman Tracy McGrady.

Malone was named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players back in 1996-97 season and was named MVP of the 1983 NBA Finals as he and the aforementioned Erving and Cheeks along with Andrew Toney, Bobby Jones, Clemon Johnson and Marc Iavaroni swept the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 to capture the title.

He averaged 20.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in his 21-year professional basketball career playing for eight different teams.

Before that season began, Moses, who joined the Sixers that season as a free agent made what became the most famous line in NBA history when he said “Fo’, Fo’, Fo’,” in predicting that the Sixers would sweep their way to the title.

They came pretty close winning 12 of their 13 playoff games and Malone lead the way averaging 26 points per contest during the 1983 postseason.

“No one person has ever conveyed more with so few words—including three of the most iconic in this city’s history,” 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil said yesterday. “His generosity, towering personality and incomparable sense of humor will truly be missed.”  

Malone was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame 14 years ago and was in Springfield, MA this past weekend for the Induction of the 2015 Hall of Fame class before he returned to Virginia.

Malone’s basketball journey began at Petersburg High School in Petersburg, VA where the team went undefeated during his junior and senior years capturing the state title in both years.

While he signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Maryland, but he was drafted by the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1974 and Malone became the first player to go from high school to the professional ranks of basketball.

That jump along with what he did after that many years later inspired the likes of future Hall of Famers, former MVP’s and NBA champions Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers; Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Malone began his career with the Stars in 1974-75 on the heels of signing a five-year, $1 million contract.

After the stars folded at season’s end, Malone played for the Spirits of St. Louis the next season. Malone averaged 17.2 points and 12.9 boards per contest in those two seasons.

After the 1975-76 seasons, the ABA and NBA merged and in the dispersal draft, Malone was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the fifth overall pick.

Malone was impressive in pre-season, he never suited up for the team as they felt they had a player of the same caliber in future Hall of Famer Maurice Lucas, who was acquired in that same draft.

Malone was traded to the Buffalo Braves prior to the 1976-77 season for a first-round pick in the 1978 draft.

After two games with the Braves, Malone was on the move again as he was traded to the Houston Rockets for two future first-round picks.

In Houston, Malone’s career took off as he averaged 13.2, 19.4, 24.8, 25.8, 27.8 and 31.1 points and 13.1, 15.0, 17.6, 14.5 14.8, 14.7 rebounds per game during those seasons.

Malone, whose No. 24 jersey hangs in the rafters of the Toyota Center in Houston led the Rockets to the 1981 NBA Finals, where they lost to Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish and the Boston Celtics in six games.

“Everyone in the organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Moses Malone,” Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said in a statement last week. “Moses was a true gentleman and one of the great Rockets and greatest NBA players of all-time. He will be forever missed. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.”

Two seasons later, Malone joined the Sixers via a trade from the Rockets for Caldwell Jones and their future first-round pick in the 1983 draft. The Sixers went on that season to win 65 games, the most in the NBA. As mentioned earlier, the went 12-1 in the postseason, which was capped by a four-game sweep of Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Earvin “Magic” Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in The Finals to capture the team’s third title in franchise history.

Malone won his second straight MVP Award and third overall with averages of 15.3 rebounds per game, leading the NBA in that category for the third straight season, while also scoring 24.5 points per contest in 1982-83, ranking fifth best in the NBA.

He played for the Sixers for two more seasons and then played for the then Washington Bullets, now Wizards for two seasons; Atlanta Hawks for three seasons; Milwaukee Bucks for two; the Sixers again and he would finish up with the San Antonio Spurs in the 1994-95 season.

Malone would finish his career as just one of four players to score over 25,000 points and grab over 15,000 rebounds, joining Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points-No. 1 in NBA history; 17,440 boards), Wilt Chamberlin (31,419 points, 23,924 boards) and Elvin Hayes (27,313 points and 16,279 boards).

His 27,409 points rank eighth all-time in NBA history and his 16,212 boards still rank fifth on the league’s all-time list. He also is the record holder in NBA history for offensive rebounds in a career with 6,731; offensive boards in a season with 587 and offensive boards in a game with 21.

As mentioned earlier Moses became one of the first to enter the NBA straight out of high school which paved the way for the likes of the aforementioned Bryant, Garnett and James along with Tracy McGrady, Phoenix Suns center Tyson Chandler and former NBA center Eddy Curry to name a few.

The one player that Malone had a major impact on was fellow Sixers’ legend, Hall of Famer and MVP Charles Barkley.

Drafted by the Sixers back in the 1984 NBA Draft, Barkley came into the league as a player that was very talented and skilled, but there was a lot of questions about his work ethic and dedication. That all changed when he met Malone.  

“Moses is singularly the greatest influence in my NBA career. He taught me how to work hard. I call him dad,” Barkley, who played for the Sixers from 1984-92 said about Malone.

Barkley echoed those feelings at Malone’s funeral service this past Saturday at when he recalled a time when he lived in the same apartment as Malone back when they were both on the Sixers and Barkley would order pizza constantly and that every time he did, he would hear a knock at his door and it would Malone.

Malone said to the future star once, “Hey Charles, you can’t lose weight eating pizza.”

“That type of leadership, stand on my case, at the time it was a struggle, but man, I cannot believe how lucky I am to No. 1, have a father figure on my team, but also living in my same building…to keep my moving forward. I always thanked him for that.”

Sampson said something along those same lines about Malone when he called him, “the most gentle, sweetest person you would want to know. Basketball was his specialty, but life was his calling. If you meet somebody like that, you gravitate to him. He was never up. He was never down. He was just Moses.”

Erving compared Malone to legendary entertainer Frank Sinatra by calling him “a guy who did it his own way and in the process, changed everything.

On the court he was a magnificent scorer and relentless rebounder. He was a player that made his teammates better on the court and was true friend off the court. He did not do a lot of talking, but when he spoke, he had the ear of everyone that listened. To some up the life of Moses Malone, he was a great basketball player, a true friend and one amazing person. One that will be sorely missed, but never forgotten.

Information, statistics and quotes are courtesy of ESPN.com article, “Charles Barkley eulogizes Moses Malone: ‘He treated me like a son;’ ESPN.com article, “Three-time MVP Moses Malone dies at age 60;” www.nba.com/video/channels/nbatv/2015/09/1320150913-moses-malone-tribute; en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Malone; www.basketbll-reference.com/players/m/malonmo01.html; 9/13/15 11 a.m. EPSN Bottom Line news crawl during “Sunday NFL Countdown;” 9/13/15 9 p.m. NBATV news crawl.