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Malone spent time with the Sixers during the 2002 training camp at Penn State.
Hall of Famer Moses Malone, a veteran of 21 ABA and NBA seasons, played for the Houston Rockets from 1976 to 1982 before being traded to the Philadelphia on Sept. 15, 1982. He helped lead the Sixers to the 1983 NBA championship. Malone is the fifth-leading rebounder and scorer in NBA history and was honored in 1996-97 as a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Among his many NBA accolades, Malone scored 27,409 points and grabbed 16,212 rebounds in his 19-year NBA career. He was the NBA Most Valuable Player in 1979, 1982 and 1983; was the NBA Finals MVP in 1983; and was a 12-time All-Star. Malone follows the Sixers and the Rockets on satellite and shared his thoughts on the teams.
On the Sixers’ offense this season:
Malone: Coach Larry Brown and his staff are doing a great job with the team. The new additions of the two ball players (Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch) you all brought in from the trade for (Dikembe) Mutombo is really working. And with DC coming back and (Allen) Iverson playing the way he’s been playing, you got a great offense, and you’ve got a great defense.
My whole thing is, you win with your defense. I think Larry Brown has got the offense going and he’s got the defense going. And that’s why the 76ers are winning.
On the biggest key for the Sixers:
Malone: The big key is that you got a unit. I see all 12 guys playing together as a unit. It’s not about who’s doing all the scoring. It’s about winning. And when you see a team playing that way, the opportunity to win a championship is everyone playing that way together. You don’t have individuals, you have everyone playing together…if you keep it like that for the year, it will be there because Allen Iverson is doing a good job. He is distributing the ball and getting everyone involved and everybody is playing together.
On the differences between Philadelphia and Houston this season:
Malone:The biggest difference is that they’ve got a 7-6 guy in the middle. Most of the times I see Houston play, they score 84, 90 points. But they got speed. I think Cuttino (Mobley) might be back this week, and he is another offensive strength. They got a lot of offensive players. But, you know, with Philly coming in here and just playing solid defense and keep everything below 80, they could win the ball game. But Yao Ming is big problem. He’s got a lot of skills, but I don’t see him playing on the floor too much…right now, this young guy, I think he’s got a lot of skill, he’s going to be a big part of the NBA.
Malone had scored in double figures in 534-straight games (his first 210 games as a 76er) from Oct. 29, 1982, to March 4, 1985, and offered his view on what Allen Iverson needs to do to keep his 139-straight double-figure scoring streak alive:
Malone: Don’t take no prisoners man. Stay focused and stay positive that you can do it. And be ready to play every night. Keep your health in good shape and just work hard. The main thing is you want to do is be a winner. He’s got that winning attitude. When you’ve got a winning attitude, you are going to be a great ball player.
On the Sixers underrated players:
Malone: (Eric) Snow and (Aaron) McKie. Snow is doing a good job. When the offense is getting out of hand he tries to slow it down. He knows when to get the ball to Allen. He knows how to keep the pace. Make sure everybody is in their spot. He’s a leader behind Allen Iverson. And the rest of the guys, they need to be like me and Doc and Andrew Toney were playing back in Philadelphia. You know who the chief is, Doc is, the rest of the guys have to get in the puzzle with him and enjoy the ride.
On the Sixers’ offense this season:
Malone: Coach Larry Brown and his staff are doing a great job with the team. The new additions of the two ball players (Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch) you all brought in from the trade for (Dikembe) Mutombo is really working. And with DC coming back and (Allen) Iverson playing the way he’s been playing, you got a great offense, and you’ve got a great defense.
My whole thing is, you win with your defense. I think Larry Brown has got the offense going and he’s got the defense going. And that’s why the 76ers are winning.
On the biggest key for the Sixers:
Malone: The big key is that you got a unit. I see all 12 guys playing together as a unit. It’s not about who’s doing all the scoring. It’s about winning. And when you see a team playing that way, the opportunity to win a championship is everyone playing that way together. You don’t have individuals, you have everyone playing together…if you keep it like that for the year, it will be there because Allen Iverson is doing a good job. He is distributing the ball and getting everyone involved and everybody is playing together.
On the differences between Philadelphia and Houston this season:
Malone:The biggest difference is that they’ve got a 7-6 guy in the middle. Most of the times I see Houston play, they score 84, 90 points. But they got speed. I think Cuttino (Mobley) might be back this week, and he is another offensive strength. They got a lot of offensive players. But, you know, with Philly coming in here and just playing solid defense and keep everything below 80, they could win the ball game. But Yao Ming is big problem. He’s got a lot of skills, but I don’t see him playing on the floor too much…right now, this young guy, I think he’s got a lot of skill, he’s going to be a big part of the NBA.
Malone had scored in double figures in 534-straight games (his first 210 games as a 76er) from Oct. 29, 1982, to March 4, 1985, and offered his view on what Allen Iverson needs to do to keep his 139-straight double-figure scoring streak alive:
Malone: Don’t take no prisoners man. Stay focused and stay positive that you can do it. And be ready to play every night. Keep your health in good shape and just work hard. The main thing is you want to do is be a winner. He’s got that winning attitude. When you’ve got a winning attitude, you are going to be a great ball player.
On the Sixers underrated players:
Malone: (Eric) Snow and (Aaron) McKie. Snow is doing a good job. When the offense is getting out of hand he tries to slow it down. He knows when to get the ball to Allen. He knows how to keep the pace. Make sure everybody is in their spot. He’s a leader behind Allen Iverson. And the rest of the guys, they need to be like me and Doc and Andrew Toney were playing back in Philadelphia. You know who the chief is, Doc is, the rest of the guys have to get in the puzzle with him and enjoy the ride.
