Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history for 75th anniversary

Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history: No. 19 – Karl Monroe

On NBA 50 at 50 List

Career: 1985 – 2004

Achievements: Two-time MVP; All-NBA (14x); All-Star (14x); All-Defense (4x); second in career scoring; eighth in career rebounds; 12th in career steals

Karl Malone comes in at No. 19 on our list, the highest-ranked player never to win a title. Malone was nicknamed “The Mailman” because he always delivered; he was the most consistent superstar in league history. In terms of championships, Malone was the ultimate “floor-raiser” but didn’t lift the ceiling quite enough to bring home a title, although the team around him in 1998 was elite and the Jazz came close to knocking off Michael Jordan.

Malone’s availability was one of his best characteristics. Across a 19-year career, he played 80 or more games 17 times, missing just five games total over his first 13 seasons. He averaged at least 25 points and 9.8 rebounds for 11 straight seasons, and at least 21 and 8 for 16. Paired with John Stockton until his final, ring-chasing season with the Lakers, Malone was the ultimate example of consistent excellence.

Stockton and Malone will go down as two of the best never to win a title, but they dominate the record books as a point guard and his power forward who made sweet music for years and years. There’s something to be said for being great even if you don’t reach the mountaintop.