Moses Malone

Moses Eugene Malone (born March 23, 1955 in Petersburg, Virginia) is a retired American Hall of Fame basketball player who starred in both the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association.

A three-time NBA MVP and one of the NBA's 50 greatest players, Malone was the most successful prep-to-pro player of his era, going straight from Petersburg High to a 21-year career in professional basketball.

By the time Malone retired after 19 seasons in the NBA he was the last former ABA player active and held numerous distinctions in both leagues, including a championship ring and NBA finals trophy won with the 1983 Philadelphia 76ers.

High school

Right after graduating from Petersburg High School, Malone signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Maryland. However, Malone was drafted by the ABA's Utah Stars in 1974 and became one of the first basketball players to jump straight from high school into the professional leagues.

ABA career

Malone began his professional career with the Utah Stars. He later played for the ABA's Spirits of St. Louis. In two seasons in the ABA, Malone averaged 17.2 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. Malone's ABA career ended with the ABA–NBA merger in June 1976, when Malone moved to the NBA.

Early years in the NBA

The ABA-NBA merger occurred after the 1975–76 season, but the Spirits of St. Louis were one of the ABA teams that did not join the NBA.

In the ABA Dispersal Draft held on August 5, the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers selected Malone from the Spirits of St. Louis with the fifth overall pick.

Malone's NBA rights had previously been by the New Orleans Jazz, but the NBA let them place Malone into the draft pool in exchange for the return of their 1st-round draft pick in 1977, which they used to trade for Gail Goodrich.

The 21-year-old center never played a regular-season game for the Blazers, however. Prior to the first game of the 1976–77 season Portland traded him to the Buffalo Braves for a 1978 first-round draft choice.

Even then, Malone's travels were not over. After only two games with Buffalo he was traded by the Braves to the Houston Rockets for two future first-round draft choices.