This NBA legend missed six games over 18 years with the NBA team.
As the league evolved over the years, fans have witnessed many superstars who have somehow dominated the game.
Whether on the offensive edge or on the defensive side of the floor. But one common theme among the greatest NBA greats of all time is their incredible longevity.
For example, La Lakers star LeBron James concluded the 22nd season of his NBA career. Or the great Kobe Bryant in his later years, enjoying 20 years of stints in the league.
A common complaint that NBA fans have about the modern era is their lack of availability from the league’s top superstars.
They often compare former NBA greats who did their best to play every game possible during the regular season. Even among these former stars, few have done it better than Utah Jazz legend Carl Malone.
Malone, drafted as the 13th overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft, took part in the Jazz. Over the next 18 years, Malone established his name as one of the greatest scorers of all time.
Malone was known for his physicality in the 1980s and 1990s, but one underrated aspect of his career is that he rarely misses the NBA game.
Due to context, in 18 seasons with the Jazz, Malone missed just six games. Malone won a variety of individual accolades, including two regular season MVPs, but he didn’t lift the glorious Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Malone and the Jazz made two appearances in the NBA Finals in 1998 and 1999, while Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls both recorded a 4-2 victory.
After nearly 20 years with the Jazz, Malone finally attempted to win the NBA Championship. This time he will be a member of the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2003-04 season.
However, it seemed to be written in destiny to retire without winning the ring. After all, in his only season with the Lakers, the postman suffered the first major injury of his career.
This allowed the jazz legend to play in just 42 games in purple and gold, averaging 13.2 points with 8.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
The Lakers made it to the 2004 NBA Finals, but after an embarrassing 4-1 defeat they succumbed to the Detroit Pistons.
This is the last time fans saw Malone when they announced their retirement. It was the end of the anti-climax of the legendary power forward career.