Thanking Utah’s Mailman: Karl Malone’s Top 5 Moments

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – In honor of national “thank a mailman” day, the KSL Sports team has put together the top five moments of the state of Utah’s mailman, Karl Malone.

The Utah Jazz legend and NBA Hall of Famer had many great performances, which was hard to pick just five moments.

Here is the top 5 moments from the mailman’s career with the Utah Jazz.

HM: Olympic Gold Medals

Malone was a member of the “Dream Team” in 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, helping the United States win the gold medal. In 1992, the U.S. went 5-0 during the Olympics and outscored their opponents by a combined 579-350. In the gold medal game, the United States beat Croatia 117-85. During the Barcelona games, Malone averaged 13 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

The Jazz legend joined the United States in the 1996 games in Atlanta as they claimed gold once again with a 5-0 record and outscoring their opponents 522-345 combined. The mailman averaged 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

HM: All-Star MVP Awards

Throughout Malone’s career, he appeared in 14 All-Star games. He took home the MVP award in two of those games. In the 1989 All-Star game in Houston – Malone’s second All-Star appearance – he won the MVP award after dropping 28 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists, shooting 12-17 from the field leading the West to a 143-134 win over the East. It was John Stockton’s first appearance in the All-Star game.

Malone’s second MVP award was shared with John Stockton in 1993 with the game played at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The West beat the East in overtime, 135-132. Malone finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Stockton recorded 9 points and 15 assists.

5. Dunk Over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

In Game 4 of the second round of the postseason, Karl Malone made a big play for the Jazz. He was driving down the lane when he met Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Malone dunked the ball over Abdul-Jabbar. The Jazz went on to lose the game at home and eventually lost the series 4-3. Malone finished the game with 29 points and 11 rebounds.

4. 61 Points Against Milwaukee

On January 27, 1990, Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz demolished the Milwaukee Bucks in Salt Lake City. They picked up a 48-point win with Malone recording a career-high 61 points, along with 18 rebounds on 21-26 shooting from the field and 19-23 from the free throw line.

3. Two-Time NBA MVP

Malone won two NBA MVP awards throughout his career. The 1996-97 season was the first MVP hardware that he would take home. During that season, Malone averaged 27.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, while shooting 55 percent from the field. Malone led the Jazz to their first appearance in the NBA Finals.

The second MVP award came during the 1999 lockout season where they Jazz finished as the No. 3-seed in the Western Conference. They lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round of the Playoffs. Malone recorded 23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per contest and shot 49 percent from the floor.

2. 1997 NBA Finals Stockton-To-Malone Connection

In the final minute of Game 4 of the 1997 NBA Finals, the Utah Jazz tied the series with the Chicago Bulls at two-games apiece when John Stockton collected the rebound and fired a pass across the court that landed perfectly in Karl Malone’s hands leading to an easy layup.

Malone had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in the Jazz four-point win. Stockton added 17 points, 12 assists and 4 steals.

1. 1998 NBA Finals Game 5

In Game 5 of the 1998 NBA Finals, the Chicago Bulls had a 3-1 series lead over the Jazz. With Utah up against the ropes, the mailman delivered when he needed to the most. The mailman delivered 39 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in Utah’s two point road win over the Bulls, sending the series back to Salt Lake City. The Jazz lost to the Bulls in Game 6.