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NBA History: Best NBA player born in each state

By Jerran Anderson

MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 01: Former Milwaukee Bucks player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is honored at halftime during a game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 1, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 01: Former Milwaukee Bucks player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is honored at halftime during a game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 1, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Best NBA player born in Virginia: Moses Malone

Virginia has a rich history of Hall of Famers that played in the NBA. Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning and Ralph Sampson are a few big names, but the biggest name is Petersburg native, Moses Malone. He’s one of the NBA’s all-time great centers and at 6-foot-10, he made his impact wherever he went.

Malone had a journeyman career, despite making 13 All-Star appearances during his 19-year career. He was traded to the Houston Rockets after two games with the Buffalo Braves during his rookie season in 1976-77.

He averaged 13.5 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 80 games with the Rockets. He appeared in the first of 13-consecutive All-Star appearances in 1977-78, averaging 24.8 points and a league-best 17.6 rebounds per game that year.

He was given the league’s MVP award during the 1978-79 campaign with the Rockets, During the 1981-82 season, he recorded 53 points and 22 rebounds in a 122-106 victory over the San Diego Clippers on Feb. 2. He was given the league’s MVP award that season as well. As a walking double-double, Malone showed his value no matter where he went.

Malone was traded from Houston to the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1982 offseason. In his first season with the Sixers, he won the lone NBA title of his career along with the second-straight MVP award in 1982-83. He also took home the Finals MVP award, producing 25.8 points, 18.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest in the 1983 NBA Finals.

The Sixers never made another run to the Finals after that with Malone and in the 1985 offseason, they traded him to the Washington Bullets. Malone spent the 1986-88 seasons with the Bullets before signing with the Atlanta Hawks in August 1988.

After bouncing around to the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, back to Philadelphia and then to the Spurs, Malone called it quits in 1995. He currently ranks second all-time in league history in free throws made, fifth all-time in rebounds (16,212) and ninth all-time in points (27,409). In 2001, he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.