THE HAMMER DUNK
Known affectionately as “The Mailman”, because he “always delivered”, Karl Malone, the unstoppable, Hall of Fame power forward in the National Basketball Association made an unforgettable legacy in the basketball world. With his list of accomplishments, it is no surprise he is recognized as one of the greatest NBA stars of all time and is often considered to be the greatest power forward ever to have played in the NBA.
His stardom was apparent from the very beginning of his athletic career, from elementary school on. He had an impressive college career at Louisiana Tech University, where he used his speed and size added to his sheer basketball savvy to help him dominate even the most formidable opponents. There wasn’t a single doubt that he’d be a star later in the NBA, and in 1985, Karl was drafted by the Utah Jazz with their first-round pick – possibly the greatest personnel decision that team
would ever make!
Wearing the jersey number 32 (which the Jazz later retired to honor him), Malone proudly represented the Utah Jazz and embodied a strong spirit of excellence. For 18 seasons, Malone dazzled Jazz fans and other audiences with his trademark “Hammerdunk” as well as his accuracy from the free throw line. He was elected to the NBA All-Star team fourteen times (and was named MVP of the annual NBA All-Star Game twice) and earned the regular season NBA Most Valuable Player award twice, in 1997 and 1999 and was elected to the All-NBA First Team for eleven straight years.