The great Moses Malone passed away this weekend at the age of 60. Malone was the first guy to go straight out of high school to play professional basketball when he was picked in the 1974 ABA Draft by the Utah Stars. His pro career spanned 21 seasons and included stints with two ABA teams and seven NBA teams, most notably the Houston Rockets and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Malone was an ABA All-Star in 1975, and a 12-time NBA All-Star. He won three NBA MVP Awards, and won the NBA Finals MVP Award in 1983 when he led the Sixers to the title.
He was called "Chairman of the Boards," and for good reason: No player finished with more combined ABA and NBA rebounds. He led the NBA in rebounding six times in a seven-year span, including five straight times from the 1980-81 season to the 1984-85 season. The greatest offensive rebounder the game has ever seen, he led one league or the other in offensive rebounds nine times over the course of his career. He's the NBA record-holder for career offensive rebounds, single-season offensive rebounds, and single-game offensive rebounds.
Malone had per game averages of 24.8 points and 17.6 rebounds for the Rockets in the 1978-79 season, his first time leading the league in rebounds per game; in one game that season, against the New Orleans Jazz, he powered his way to a career-best 37 boards!
As a scorer, he averaged at least 20 points per game in 11 different seasons. His 31.1 points per game for the Sixers in the 1981-82 season was second in the league only to the great George ("Iceman") Gervin's 32.3 mark.
Old timers will fondly remember Malone's "Fo, fo, fo" prediction back in 1983; Malone was saying that the Sixers, who also had Julius ("Dr. J") Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Bobby Jones, and Andrew Toney, and who had gone 65-17 during the regular season, would go undefeated in the playoffs. As things turned out, Philly went 12-1 in the playoffs and swept the Lakers in the Finals.
A short article at Grantland: Moses Malone: 1955–2015
Malone's bio at NBA.com: http://www.nba.com/history/players/malonem_bio.html
And, here's a link to Malone's career stats page at basketball-reference.com.
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