Karl Malone is an extremely polarizing person off the NBA court, but on it he is undeniably one of the greatest to ever suit up.
Since retiring from the league in 2004, Malone has kept a relatively low profile. He had one brief stint an assistant coach for Louisiana Tech from 2007 to 2011, but outside of that he has mostly just stayed off the grid.
That appears to be changing in 2023.
Ahead of NBA All-Star Weekend taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah, this coming February, Malone is apparently preparing to come out and make a special guest appearance.
Because many NBA fans hadn’t seen Malone in more than a decade, they were a little surprised by how he looked now:
Karl Malone plans to come ‘off the grid’ next month for Utah’s All-Star weekend, per @sheridanhoops pic.twitter.com/j9rnlhprPL
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) January 14, 2023
NBA Twitter has never been shy about expressing their opinions, and nobody bit their tongue this time around either.
The reactions flowed in pretty quickly.
Man he’s old
— Director (@DiggzWorld) January 14, 2023
OMG, he’s aged Horribly!! 🫢 He looks like a 6’10” Clayton Bigsby! (Which is accurate in multiple ways…) pic.twitter.com/w6U5q6vHU6
— Todney (@phlsportsdad) January 14, 2023
hes staying fit.
— Michael (@RaidersChatter) January 14, 2023
Man Malone has really aged compared to Barkley, Jordan, and Magic
— PoloandJays82 (@tjlong983) January 14, 2023
He looks 100
— Leo (@vargas305MIA) January 14, 2023
Part of the reason people have such strong feelings about Malone is because of his many controversies. One in particular, involving Vanessa Bryant, continues to draw the ire of many hoops aficionados.
That said, contrary to popular belief, Malone hasn’t been entirely off the grid all these years.
He stepped out of the shadows to offer his thoughts on the most talented NBA player ever, why he takes issue with New Orleans Pelicans big man Zion Williamson and to offer his thoughts on Scottie Pippen’s beef with Michael Jordan.
A new chapter in the Dejounte Murray vs. NBA YoungBoy beef. https://t.co/ZoiTyJiGqp
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 19, 2023
Malone’s inclusion in this year’s NBA All-Star weekend should be fascinating to observe on multiple levels.
How will the fans at large ultimately receive him? Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
