HoopsCritic Hot 50 – #17 Karl Malone

 

The mail was on time, it was delivered with power, and it was dealt with precision. A ring may have been lost somewhere along the way, but other than that small package Karl Malone delivered the goodies. Malone is rated second highest of all listed players on the #HCHot50 not to win a ring.

One can only imagine what Malone’s legacy would’ve been, had the Jazz dispatched the Bulls on even one of their two opportunities. 20 points, 10 rebounds, and a decent shooting percentage is a common bench mark for NBA bigs. Malone retired with career averages of 25, 10, and a pretty 52% shooting.

Aside from the two MVP awards Malone acquired, he finished top five in voting on seven other occasions. Kobe Bryant is doing his best, but as it stands the Mailman still sits second all time in points, seventh in rebounds, and 51st in assists.

The Resume:

13th Overall Pick 1985 – Utah Jazz

14x All-Star

14x All-NBA

4x All-Defense

2x All-Star MVP

2x MVP

Hall of Fame

How did the guys rank him?

The Flag Bearer: Brian Geltzeiler (13).

The Barn Burner: Justin Salkin (27).

How did the other guys rank Malone: James Holas (15), Shane Young (15), Marc Griffin (15), Lang Greene (15), Adi Joseph (17), Jacob Noble (17), Matt Drappel (19), Robert Littal (19), Will Reeve (19), Josh Eberley (20), Justin Termine (25), and Justin Rowan (26).

 

#16 Tuesday, September 22nd.

Don’t like it? Think we got it wrong? Maybe, just maybe we got it right? Let us know using the #HCHot50 hash-tag. Or give the contributors hell, contact info below. Any tweets with #HCHot50 may be featured on the site going forward, tweet us your feedback!

 

Contributors:

Josh Eberley – hoopscritic.com / Host of the @PullUpPodcastHC, @JoshEberley

Jacob Noble – hoopscritic.com / Host of the @PullUpPodcastHC, @JacobNoble_HC

James Holas – hoopscritic.com / BballBreakdown, @SnottieDrippen

Adi Joseph – sportingnews.com, @AdiJoseph

Matt Drappel – sportsnet.ca, @MattyD416

Justin Rowan – fearthesword.com / hoopslounge.com, @Cavsanada

Robert Littal – blacksportsonline.com, @BSO

Shane Young – hoopshabit.com, @YoungNBA

Justin Termine – Sirius XM NBA / cinesport.com host, @TermineRadio

Marc Griffin – hoopslounge.com / sportsnet.ca, @montrealmarc

Lang Greene – basketballinsiders.com, @LangGreene

Justin Salkin – hoopscritic.com / brooklynsbeat.com, @brooklynsbeat

Will Reeve – awfsports.com / Host of the All Weather Fan Podcast, contributor for hoopscritic.com @WillReeveJr

and of course,

Brian Geltzeiler – hoopscritic.com / Sirius XM NBA / the-cauldron.com / 120sports.com, @hoopscritic

 

Links to previous #HCHot50 pages:

 

HCHot50 Intro / Missed the Cut

#50 Pete Maravich
#49 Dave Cowens
#48 Wes Unseld
#47 Dolph Schayes
#46 Paul Pierce
#45 Kevin Durant
#44 Dominique Wilkins
#43 Chris Paul
#42 Bill Walton
#41 Gary Payton
#40 Elvin Hayes
#39 Clyde Drexler
#38 Allen Iverson
#37 Steve Nash
#36 Willis Reed
#35 George Mikan
#34 Patrick Ewing
#33 Kevin McHale
#32 Jason Kidd
#31 George Gervin
#30 Walt Frazier
#29 Dwyane Wade
#28 Rick Barry
#27 Bob Cousy
#26 Scottie Pippen
#25 John Stockton
#24 David Robinson
#23 Dirk Nowtizki
#22 John Havlicek
#21 Isiah Thomas
#20 Bob Pettit
#19 Kevin Garnett
#18 Charles Barkley