Karl Malone will forever be the pride and joy of the Utah Jazz. Outside of Salt Lake City, however, his elbows have caused opposing players and fanbases to feel negatively towards him. And with good reason — they were lethal out on the court.
Death, taxes and Karl Malone’s elbows nearly removing someone’s nose from their face out on the hardwood — life just makes a bit more sense when you know what’s coming, doesn’t it?
The elbow consists of 23 intricate muscles that not only provide it with the flexibility it requires to function, but the strength it needs to powerfully rip down rebounds in a crowded NBA lane.
As far as The Mailman is concerned, his “victims” understand this better than most …
- Steve Nash: A bloodied mouth led to a one-game suspension for Karl.
- Brian Grant: Malone rattled Grant’s teeth; the act cost him a cool $10,000.
- Darrick Martin: A swift elbow to Martin’s throat set the K-Man back $7,500.
- Michael Jordan: No foul, fine or suspension — just a gushing nose for Mike.
- Dennis Rodman: This happened so many times … dealer’s choice, I suppose.
And if the above hasn’t yet hit you with an immediate migraine, no worries — there’s more.
Do you remember watching Mike Tyson at the height of his boxing ability? Before taking a bite out of Evander Holyfield’s ear, threatening to eat Lennox Lewis’ children and an impromptu face tattoo, the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history was known for buckling knees.
Malone’s elbows never reached Tyson’s level of terror, but don’t tell that to David Robinson.
On April 6, 1998, Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs traveled to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center. The Jazz would go on to win the game 98-88, but it’s what took place less than three minutes into the game that made headlines all across the league …
Malone’s left elbow knocked Robinson out cold — for two whole minutes, in fact.
The pair of big men weren’t jockeying for a rebound or contesting a layup, though. The sleep-inducing blow came about as John Stockton fed Malone a bounce pass at the top of the key. Karl bobbled the incoming pass and whipped around counter-clockwise towards the basket, making clean (and inadvertent … maybe?) contact with Robinson’s left temple — limbs went loose, and he dropped.
Robinson spent the night at LDS Hospital; Malone was suspended one game and fined $5,000.
As violent as it was, shockingly, Malone’s TKO of Robinson is far from the most well-publicized of incidents involving the billy clubs attached to his arms — Isiah Thomas would like a word.
The backstory is important for this one, though …
In 1991, USA Basketball put together its roster for the 1992 Olympics. Surprisingly absent from the team was one of the NBA’s best point guards in Thomas — Stockton took his place, actually.
At the time, rumors persisted that Thomas hadn’t received an invitation to participate in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, due to a number of sour relationships he had with other players.
Thomas wasn’t only aware of these rumors, but knew exactly who it was that had taken his spot in Spain. The first time the Jazz met the Detroit Pistons during the 1991-1992 season, Thomas made a personal point of torching Stockton for an unforgettable 44 points in a 123-115 victory.
One month later, during the rematch, Malone made sure his performance was unforgettable, too.
Five minutes into the game, looking to initiate the Pistons’ offense, Thomas worked himself right off a Bill Laimbeer screen. Caught in the screen, Stockton was taken out of the play. Slower than molasses, Mark Eaton “rushed” to cover for Stockton, but was quickly beaten. As Thomas neared the rim, he left his feet in an attempt to lay the ball into the basket — Malone met him in the air.
Then, this happened:
While players jostled with each other well after the official’s whistle, Thomas laid on his back in anguish, covering his eye with his hands to keep blood from spilling out onto the Jazz’s court.
Malone was ejected, but the night’s events were far from finalized. The Jazz would go on to win the violent, hard-fought game 102-100, but the contest would prove costly for Karl — yet again, he was served a one-game suspension and fined $10,000 for the cheap shot on Thomas’ grill.
It’s been twenty-nine years since Malone’s bloody foul, but Thomas hasn’t forgotten what landed him a trip to nearby LDS Hospital (sound familiar?) for 40 stitches to keep his face in once piece. During a 2014 interview with The Detroit News, Thomas made it clear …
He’s still ticked:
"“I think it was the dirtiest play I have experienced in the game of basketball in my life. I don’t think I’ve seen anything as vicious and as intentional to a player. I still don’t understand it … It was horrific. That was the cheapest [expletive] in my mind in the history of the game.”"
To date, Karl Malone is 56 years of age — feel old yet?
These days, his beard comes in with a bit more gray than it did during his time in Utah, but he still appears as if he could hold his own against NBA strongmen like Nenê or Steven Adams.
Whatever the outcome, he’d have one clear-cut advantage, at least: bloodthirsty elbows.