Happy start to a new week everyone!
We are less than a week from Jazz basketball games getting played again, and what better way to get us prepared for the preseason than a collection of....
BREAKING NEWS: THIS DOWNBEAT HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER! THERE'S NO TURNING BACK NOW! WE ARE ENTERING TERRITORY NOT TRODDEN FOR EONS! WELCOME TO THE MALONEBEAT!
There's no turning down the Mailman from groovin' and shutting out all the negativity in the world while he shows that there are still some OG ballers out there getting it done with those flip phones straight outta 2005.
Here's your very own Malone reppin' it at the Syrcacuse-LSU game this weekend!
aaaand I know when that flip phone bling: http://t.co/UXRAKnJcln https://t.co/G9VQmhyxRR
— SB Nation (@SBNation) September 27, 2015
That's right folks, this downbeat has been taken over by none other than your former superstar,
Karl Anthony Malone!
(Baller rap warning; words that cannot be said by the average Jazz fan are said in this song)
We should get this straight, people do not just talk about Malone just because of his style or all-around entertaining personality.
He is an NBA all-time great!
Many people would have him on their 1st team all-time, and no, not just Jazz fans.
In the last week, Shaq gave one of his biggest early rivals some love when asked about his all-time 1st team, his response:
Shaq reveals his all-time NBA top 5 (via @NOLAnews): pic.twitter.com/RobTkZXDrG
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 22, 2015
An interesting all-time NBA top 5 for sure.
Not too many people will argue with the guard choices.
But there are so many legitimate choices for the all-time best frontcourt, that it is flattering as well as quite the accomplishment whenever our very own Karl Malone makes it as one of the best ever big men. Especially when you look at what NBA greats such as Shaq, Wilt, Hakeem, Abdul-Jabbar, Duncan and others have on their résumés.
Looking back at how the salary cap and how NBA player's individual salaries have changed over the years can be quite mindblowing in witnessing how much the league has exploded over the last 2 decades.
Karl Malone made around $39 Million in his first 14 seasons in the league combined.
Now, the league's top 10 players or so each make that every 2 years.
Also, a breakdown I've never seen, here are the Jazz's top 10 franchise leaders in games played next to their career earnings with the Jazz.
Player | Approx. Career $ W/Jazz | Seasons W/Jazz | Avg. $/ Season | Last Yr W/Jazz |
Stockton | 67 | 19 | 3.5 | 2003 |
Malone | 105 | 18 | 5.8 | 2003 |
Eaton | 11 | 11 | 1.0 | 1993 |
Griffith | 6 | 10 | 0.6 | 1991 |
Bailey | 6 | 10 | 0.6 | 1999 |
Ostertag | 44 | 10 | 4.4 | 2006 |
Kirilenko | 91 | 10 | 9.1 | 2011 |
Russell | 21 | 9 | 2.3 | 2002 |
Green | 2 | 8 | 0.3 | 1988 |
Millsap | 34 | 7 | 4.9 | 2013 |
The league went from having it's highest paid player in Magic Johnson in the 80s making a couple million per year, to players in the early 2000s making north of $20 per year.
Crazy to see the road paved by the early and even some of the not so distant pioneers of the game.
This year, 69 players will be making at least $10 Million this season. Young NBA grasshoppers of today, you have Magic, Bird, and MJ as well as the greatest legends they defeated such as Stockton and Malone to thank for the boom in popularity and resulting ridiculous revenue of the league.
To conclude the Malonebeat, enjoy this classic Mailman mix as we close in on a new season, a season that hopefully is our most exciting one since the last time we had this big man suit up for our Jazz: