NBA
What Happened to Utah Jazz Legend Karl Malone?
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
All posts by Joe KozlowskiUpdated28 Mar 2020
In the history of sports, certain nicknames speak for themselves. Dominik Hasek, for example, became ‘the Dominator’ thanks to his ability to deny even the most talented shooters. On the hardwood, Magic Johnson and Pistol Pete Maravich‘s nicknames have taken on a life of their own. Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone, however, had a much benign moniker: the Mailman.
While it might seem boring at first blush, Malone earned his nickname because he consistently delivered every time he took the floor. But where is the legendary forward these days?
Karl Malone’s road to the pros
These days, most NBA stars have filtered through a handful of major college programs. There’s always an exception to the rule, however. Karl Malone was one of those.
Malone enrolled at Louisiana Tech, staying close to home, but there was a problem: his grades. The forward was academically ineligible to play basketball as a freshman; once he hit the court the next season, though, he made up for lost time.
As a sophomore, Malone averaged 20.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game; while those numbers would slightly decrease with each passing season, the forward was already showing the consistency that made him famous. He helped Lousiana Tech make the NCAA Tournament for the first two times in program history, reaching the Sweet 16 during his final season.
The Mailman delivers for the Utah Jazz
On the back of his collegiate success, the Utah Jazz selected Karl Malone with the 13th pick of the 1985 NBA draft. It would turn out to be a steal.
The forward posted a respectable stat line—14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists—as a rookie, but only improved from there. Working alongside John Stockton in the pick and roll, Malone became a force. Living up to his famous nickname, he always managed to deliver; during his 19 NBA seasons, Malone averaged more than 20 points per game 17 times.
Despite his success with the Jazz, Malone was never able to get over the hump in the postseason. He decided to make one final run at the title with the Los Angeles Lakers; the team fell in the NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons, though, and the Mailman would call it a career.
Where is Karl Malone now?
When you’re an NBA legend like Karl Malone, it’s hard to escape basketball. The Mailman, however, has done just that.
While he briefly rejoined the Utah Jazz as a part-time coach and has an open invitation to pop into Lousiana Tech at his leisure, the former forward has different obligations these days. Living in Northern Louisiana, Malone spends his time hunting and working out; he also’s a local businessman, owning a cigar shop, a teriyaki restaurant, a clothing store, and an apartment complex with his daughter. The Mailman also owns several businesses in Utah, where he used to ply his trade on the hardwood. Most of all, however, he enjoys just being Karl.
“People here don’t look at him as Karl Malone, the basketball player,” Malone’s wife, Kay, explained in 2018. “It’s more like ‘Hey, Karl’ or ‘Hey, KJ’s dad or Kadee’s dad’ because a lot of these kids don’t even know he played basketball. They know him as a hunter. So, the kids here grew up hunting and mostly ask him about hunting.”
