July 1, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) - It appears Karl Malone will walk away from the NBA without the title he desperately craved.
The Salt Lake Tribune, citing several "league sources," reported Thursday that the 19-year veteran, who is facing a lengthy rehabilitation from knee surgery, has decided to retire.
"He is totally at peace with his decision," one source told the newspaper.
After spending his first 18 seasons in Utah, Malone - the NBA's second all-time leading scorer - took a pay cut to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers with the hope of winning an elusive championship.
He joined a star-studded cast that included Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Gary Payton, but his one season in Los Angeles ended in frustration and disappointment. The heavily favored Lakers were routed by the Detroit Pistons in five games in rhe Finals.
The 40-year-old Malone spent the fifth game on the bench with a severe knee injury. He sprained his right ACL in Game Two of the Finals and played sparingly in the next two games.
Malone went 0-3 in Finals appearances, also losing to the Chicago Bulls in 1997 and 1998.
Throughout his long tenure in Utah, Malone was one on the NBA's most durable players, missing just four games in his 18 seasons. But his lone season in Los Angeles was marred by two virtually identical injuries.
Malone missed 10 weeks from an injury that was first diagnosed as a sprain in December but later revealed to be a tear. He returned in mid-March, but never regained full strength and opted for surgery Tuesday to repair the meniscus in his right knee.
Malone has averaged 25.0 points and 10.1 rebounds in his career. He has 6,928 points - second only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387 - and earned Most Valuable Player honors in 1997 and 1999.