As I usually do at the end of every year, I am making on last post-Christmas rush to get multiple reviews done. Here’s one on a book on Hall of Fame basketball player Moses Malone.
Title/Author: “Moses Malone: The Life of a Basketball Prophet” by Paul Knepper
Rating: 5 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review: Fairly or unfairly, the public perception of a superstar athlete will often be evaluated on his or her relationship with the media. Hall of Fame basketball player Moses Malone was a player who may not have had the popularity of others in his era like Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan, but that didn’t stop him from having a great basketball career and show his true side to teammates and others out of the spotlight. That trait of Malone’s, as well as his success on the court, is documented in this excellent biography by Paul Knepper.
Malone became famous at a young age when he became the first high school player to be drafted and signed by a professional team in 1974. After a brilliant high school career in Petersburg, Virginia, Malone was ready to play college ball at the University of Maryland, he instead signed with the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The poverty he experienced due to being raised in a fairly large family led by a single mother certainly played a role in the decision. Knepper’s research and interviews help the reader learn about this period of Malone’s life.
The pages about Malone’s professional basketball career are just as good. The ABA and its teams were on shaky financial ground and the Stars eventually folded and Malone joined the Spirits of St. Louis. While he was a young and raw talent playing for these teams, he impressed coaches and veteran teammates with his work ethic and willingness to listen to coaches. This bode well for him after the ABA and NBA merged. Because the Spirits were not one of the 4 teams to enter the NBA, Malone was put in a dispersal draft, where he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers and soon thereafter dealt to the Buffalo Braves. After some time in Buffalo, Malone was traded again, this time to the Houston Rockets.
It was in Houston where Malone was finally able to show the talent, skill and smarts on the court that made him a Hall of Fame player. He led the Rockets to the NBA Finals once and made several all star teams. However, after not receiving an offer he saw as fitting for what he did in Houston, he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. That team was already loaded with stars like Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, and Maurice Cheeks. The 76ers, having lost twice in the Finals to the Lakers in the previous three seasons, finally won it all in 1983. Malone made a famous quote of “Fo, fo, fo” meaning the Sixers would win the three series needed to become champions in four game sweeps - he was only one game off.
During this time with the Sixers is when the reader, thanks to Knepper’s excellent writing, learns the complicated person Malone is. He is generous with his time to teammates and fans, but not always with the press. He can seem charming but infidelity and allegations of hitting his wife brings down that image. After his skills were declining, he struggled to find a career after basketball although he did not blow all his money away. All in all, this book is an excellent look at the complex life of one of the best basketball players of the 1980’s.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
Link:https://www.amazon.com/Moses-Malone-Life-Basketball-Prophet/dp/1496238974/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0
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