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Top 50 NBA players from last 50 years: Moses Malone ranks No. 12

Top 50 NBA players from last 50 years: Moses Malone ranks No. 12

Editor’s Note: As part of a new series for his podcast, “What’s Wright with Nick Wright,” FOX Sports commentator Nick Wright is ranking the 50 best NBA players of the last 50 years. The countdown continues today with player No. 12, Moses Malone.

Moses Malone’s career highlights:

  • 1983 Finals MVP
  • Three-time league MVP
  • 12-time All-Star
  • Four-time first-team All-NBA, four-time second team
  • One-time All-Defensive first team, one-time second team
  • Six-time rebounding champion
  • 10th on all-time scoring list
  • Fifth on all-time rebounding list

For nearly 30 years now, Moses Malone has slipped through the cracks of history much like he drifted through several franchises over the better part of two decades. Those two oddities are probably related. 

They just don’t diminish Malone’s greatness. 

“The inspiration for this project,” Wright said. “You could argue, the most underrated player in the history of professional basketball.”

Moses Malone is No. 12 on Nick Wright’s Top 50 Players of the Last 50 Years

One of the most imposing big men in history, Moses Malone is a three-time MVP, a 12-time All-Star, an NBA champion and the 1983 Finals MVP. Nicknamed “The Chairman of the Boards,” he ranks fifth all-time in NBA history in rebounding (16,212) and is the NBA’s all-time leader in offensive rebounds for a career (6,731).

He’s undoubtedly one of the most accomplished. 

If it seems like Malone was indistinctly crashing the boards, the reverberation was felt throughout the NBA forest. Nobody grabbed more rebounds in professional basketball over the last 50 years. He had 2,566 more offensive ones than anyone else. 

That led to a ton of points. The 10th most in league history, in fact. 

Malone wasn’t just a compiler, however. He’s one of eight players to win three MVPs, and he did it while competing directly against three other members of the hallowed group. The Chairman of the Boards was also a winner, having fronted a dozen playoff teams for five different franchises. 

But being a bit of a vagabond was part of the problem, as it concerns his legacy.

“While Moses Malone was traded quite a bit, he was one of the greatest players in league history. The three MVPs have to matter, the longevity has to matter,” Wright said. “The reason I think he doesn’t get the long-term respect is because at the end of his career he bounced around the league so much.”

Malone’s career also got off to an inauspicious (yet ultimately impactful) start. He signed a letter of intent…

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