Report: Mailman closer to calling it quits

Yoda · January 25, 2005

January 25, 2005, at 02:30 PM ET

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Future Hall of Fame forward Karl Malone is leaning towards retirement, according to a report in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times. The report also stated that he will decide on his future in the next week or two.

"Probably toward retirement, just because that's what he is right now, theoretically," Malone's agent Dwight Manley told the paper. "Things usually go the direction of where you're at." If Malone does in fact retire, he will end his career second on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 36,928 points, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387. A 14-time All-Star and the league's MVP in 1996-97 and 1998-99, Malone averaged 25 points and 10.1 rebounds per season but posted career- lows of 13.2 points and 8.7 rebounds last season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Malone underwent surgery to repair a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee over the summer that limited him to just 42 games during his one turbulent season in Los Angeles. He declined a 1.65 million contract option shortly after the Lakers lost in five games to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA finals.

The 41-year-old Malone signed with the Lakers last summer for far below market value in an attempt to win the NBA title that has eluded him during his Hall of Fame career.