Jeffrey Nigel Malone (born June 28, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Mississippi State, and is mostly known for his time with the Washington Bullets (1983–1990) of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was an NBA All-Star twice, playing the shooting guard position. He also played for the Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat.
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Mobile, Alabama, U.S. | June 28, 1961
Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Southwest (Macon, Georgia) |
College | Mississippi State (1979–1983) |
NBA draft | 1983: 1st round, 10th overall pick |
Selected by the Washington Bullets | |
Playing career | 1983–1997 |
Position | Shooting guard |
Number | 24, 25 |
Coaching career | 2000–2006 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1983–1990 | Washington Bullets |
1990–1994 | Utah Jazz |
1994–1996 | Philadelphia 76ers |
1996 | Miami Heat |
1997 | VAO |
As coach: | |
1999–2000 | San Diego Stingrays (assistant) |
2000 | San Diego Stingrays |
2001–2005 | Columbus Riverdragons |
2005–2006 | Florida Flame |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 17,231 (19.0 ppg) |
Rebounds | 2,364 (2.6 rpg) |
Assists | 2,154 (2.4 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball Reference |
Basketball career
editMalone averaged 19.0 points per game over 13 years in the NBA. He was known for his capable offense, averaging more than 20 points in six full NBA seasons with Washington and Utah. In particular, Malone was adept at running his defender through a pick or series of screens, receiving a pass and hitting a quick mid-range jump shot. Often, these shots were off-balance, either fading sideways or falling backwards away from hoop, but his accuracy remained lethal, even when well-defended. At times, Malone would go on a hot streak and score more than 15 points in a single quarter.
On January 3, 1984, Malone, during his rookie season, hit a game-winning 3-pointer against the Detroit Pistons[1] as he fell out of bounds along the left baseline and lofted the basketball above the backboard and made it to give the Bullets a 103–102 lead with 1 second left. This shot was listed in a votable list of the NBA's greatest shots.[2] Malone emerged as one of the best scoring guards in the league over the next few years, appearing in the NBA All-Star Game in both 1986 and 1987. He averaged a career-best 24.3 points per game with the Bullets in 1989–90,[3] his last season with the team.
Malone was traded to the Jazz in the off-season, adding another offensive weapon to a team that already featured future Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton. Jeff Malone averaged 18.6 points per game in his first year in Utah, and shot 91.7 percent on free throws, good for second in the league (narrowly losing the free throw title to Indiana's Reggie Miller, who shot 91.8 percent that season). Malone averaged 20.2 points per game the following year, and was named NBA Player of the Week for December 8, 1991.[4] His scoring helped the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals that year, at that time the franchise's best-ever performance in the playoffs. During the 1993–94 season, Malone was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade that brought Jeff Hornacek to Utah.
Jeff was hired as Smokey Gaines' assistant coach for the IBL Stingrays in July 1999.[5]
Malone also coached the NBA Development League's Columbus Riverdragons from 2001 to 2005, compiling a 102–98 record, before the franchise changed ownership and moved to Austin, Texas, renaming the team the Austin Toros and leaving Malone out of a job.[3] He spent some time as the head coach of the Florida Flame until that team ceased operations in 2006, citing a lack of a suitable arena to play in.[3]
Personal life
editMalone resides in Chandler, Arizona, with his wife. He has four children; Jay, Joshua, Justin, and Jasmine Malone and one grandson Marshall Knutson-Malone.
Malone is the nephew of the late Vivian Malone Jones, the first African American graduate of the University of Alabama, and Dr. Sharon Malone Holder, wife of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.[6]
He is not related to either former Jazz teammate Karl Malone or Moses Malone (with whom he was a teammate in Washington from 1986 to 1988).[7]
NBA career statistics
editGP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
editYear | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1983–84 | Washington | 81 | 2 | 24.4 | .444 | .323 | .826 | 1.9 | 1.9 | .3 | .2 | 12.1 |
1984–85 | Washington | 76 | 61 | 34.4 | .499 | .208 | .844 | 2.7 | 2.4 | .7 | .1 | 18.9 |
1985–86 | Washington | 80 | 80 | 37.4 | .483 | .176 | .868 | 3.6 | 2.4 | .9 | .2 | 22.4 |
1986–87 | Washington | 80 | 79 | 34.5 | .457 | .154 | .885 | 2.7 | 3.7 | .9 | .2 | 22.0 |
1987–88 | Washington | 80 | 80 | 33.2 | .476 | .417 | .882 | 2.6 | 3.0 | .6 | .2 | 20.5 |
1988–89 | Washington | 76 | 75 | 31.8 | .480 | .053 | .871 | 2.4 | 2.9 | .5 | .2 | 21.7 |
1989–90 | Washington | 75 | 74 | 34.2 | .491 | .167 | .877 | 2.7 | 3.2 | .6 | .1 | 24.3 |
1990–91 | Utah | 69 | 69 | 35.7 | .508 | .167 | .917 | 3.0 | 2.1 | .7 | .1 | 18.6 |
1991–92 | Utah | 81 | 81 | 36.1 | .511 | .083 | .898 | 2.9 | 2.2 | .7 | .1 | 20.2 |
1992–93 | Utah | 79 | 59 | 32.4 | .494 | .333 | .852 | 2.2 | 1.6 | .5 | .1 | 18.1 |
1993–94 | Utah | 50 | 50 | 33.1 | .488 | .500 | .843 | 2.3 | 1.3 | .5 | .1 | 16.2 |
1993–94 | Philadelphia | 27 | 23 | 33.4 | .481 | .667 | .809 | 3.1 | 2.2 | .5 | .0 | 16.8 |
1994–95 | Philadelphia | 19 | 19 | 34.7 | .507 | .393 | .864 | 2.9 | 1.5 | .8 | .0 | 18.4 |
1995–96 | Philadelphia | 25 | 3 | 16.3 | .394 | .313 | .923 | 1.3 | .8 | .5 | .0 | 6.2 |
1995–96 | Miami | 7 | 0 | 14.7 | .394 | — | .833 | 1.1 | 1.0 | .4 | .0 | 4.4 |
Career | 905 | 755 | 32.8 | .484 | .268 | .871 | 2.6 | 2.4 | .6 | .1 | 19.0 | |
All-Star | 2 | 0 | 12.5 | .600 | .000 | — | 1.5 | 3.0 | .5 | .0 | 6.0 |
Playoffs
editYear | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | Washington | 4 | — | 17.8 | .462 | .000 | — | 1.3 | .5 | .3 | .0 | 6.0 |
1985 | Washington | 4 | 4 | 31.5 | .482 | .333 | .769 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.3 | .0 | 16.3 |
1986 | Washington | 5 | 5 | 39.4 | .408 | .000 | .897 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 1.4 | .6 | 22.0 |
1987 | Washington | 3 | 3 | 35.0 | .370 | — | 1.000 | 2.3 | 3.0 | .3 | .0 | 15.0 |
1988 | Washington | 5 | 5 | 39.8 | .515 | .000 | .757 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 25.6 |
1991 | Utah | 9 | 9 | 39.0 | .493 | .000 | .917 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 1.0 | .1 | 20.7 |
1992 | Utah | 16 | 16 | 38.1 | .487 | .333 | .861 | 2.4 | 1.9 | .5 | .1 | 20.7 |
1993 | Utah | 5 | 5 | 30.0 | .446 | — | .692 | 3.2 | .6 | .6 | .2 | 13.4 |
Career | 51 | 47 | 35.5 | .470 | .167 | .852 | 2.8 | 2.2 | .8 | .2 | 18.7 |
D-league Head Coach
editSeason | Finish | Wins | Losses | Pct. | Postseason results | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbus Riverdragons | ||||||
2001–02 | 3rd | 31 | 25 | .554 | Lost Semifinals (Greenville) 1–2 | |
2002–03 | 6th | 23 | 27 | .460 | ||
2003–04 | 6th | 18 | 28 | .391 | ||
2004–05 | 1st | 30 | 18 | .625 | Won Semifinals (Roanoke) 96–89 Lost NBDL Finals (Asheville) 67–90 | |
Florida Flame | ||||||
2005–06 | 3rd | 25 | 23 | .521 | Lost Semifinals (Albuquerque) 80–71 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ New York Times: Bullets 103, Pistons 102
- ^ "NBA's Top 10 greatest". Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2006.
- ^ a b c D-League: Flame to name Malone as coach Archived July 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Deseret News: Jeff Malone is NBA Player of the Week". Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "Transactions". The New York Times. New York. August 3, 1999.
- ^ Hook, Carol (November 19, 2008). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Eric Holder". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
- ^ Cotton, Anthony (March 12, 1988). "Jazz Stops Bullets Streak". Washington Post. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
Washington's John Williams, remaining in the starting lineup at forward, scored 22 points with six rebounds and five assists. Despite those efforts, it seemed that the two rising stars would be eclipsed by the goings-on among a trio of non-related Malones.
External links
edit- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference