Claim: Karl Malone played basketball in the National Basketball Association.

Karl Anthony Malone -LRB- born July 24 , 1963 -RRB- is an American retired professional basketball player . Nicknamed `` The Mailman '' , Malone played the power forward position and spent his first 18 seasons -LRB- 1985 -- 2003 -RRB- in the National Basketball Association -LRB- NBA -RRB- with the Utah Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate John Stockton . Malone also played one season for the Los Angeles Lakers . Malone was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player , a 14-time NBA All-Star , and an 11-time member of the All-NBA first team . He scored the second most career points in NBA history -LRB- 36,928 -RRB- -LRB- second behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -RRB- , and holds the records for most free throws attempted and made , in addition to co-holding the record for the most first team All-NBA elections in history -LRB- tied with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James -RRB- . He is considered one of the best power forwards in NBA history .   Malone played college basketball at Louisiana Tech University . In his three seasons with Louisiana Tech , he helped the Bulldogs basketball team to its first-ever NCAA tournament in 1984 and to first place in the Southland Conference in 1985 . The Utah Jazz drafted Malone in 1985 with the 13th overall pick in the first round . Malone appeared in the playoffs every season in his career , including the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 with the Jazz . He played his final season with the Los Angeles Lakers , with whom he played his third Finals in 2004 . However , Malone has the most career postseason losses of any NBA player ever , with 95 . Malone also competed with the United States national team in the Summer Olympic Games of 1992 and 1996 ; in both years he won gold medals . After retiring from the NBA , Malone joined the staff of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team in 2007 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 -LRB- twice -- for his individual career , and as a member of the 1992 United States men 's Olympic basketball team -RRB- .