Moses Malone

Paul Knepper is a freelance writer who covered the NBA as a featured columnist for the Bleacher Report website for two years. He is the author of The Knicks of the Nineties: Ewing, Oakley, Starks, and the Brawlers That Almost Won It All.

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsPreface The Heights Chuck Taylor All-Stars Visitors from the Moon Five Stars Lefty and the Milkman The Decision Stop Jivin’ Me, Coach A Star Is Born Bad News and the Spirits Wandering Moses A Launch Pad Chairman of the Boards Four Guys From Petersburg King of Fonde Straight Cash Time to Go to Work The Promised Land Reluctant Superstar Fat and Lazy The Breakup Come On Down! Superstar In Decline Endings Relentless Friend EpilogueNotesBibliographyIndex

“An incredibly detailed accounting of the life and career of Moses Malone, giving one of the NBA’s greatest ever a biography worthy of his achievements on and off the floor.”-Jake Fischer, author of Built to Lose: How the NBA’s Tanking Era Changed the League Forever “Moses Malone has a dream biographer in Paul Knepper, someone who shares Malone’s tenacity, wit, and passion for his craft. It’s time younger generations learned more about the greatness and giving soul that was Malone. I consider this magnificent book essential reading to understanding one of the NBA’s all-time underrated pioneers.”-Mirin Fader, author of the New York Times bestseller Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion “Moses Malone might be the most underrated player in basketball history, a genuinely great athlete with a great but mostly forgotten story. He has long deserved a biography that told that story in all its richness. Paul Knepper has delivered that book. Every hoops fan should read this.”-Mike Sielski, author of Magic in the Air: The Myth, the Mystery, and the Soul of the Slam Dunk“A groundbreaking read on one of the more quietly fascinating-and somewhat unheralded-figures in NBA history. Through his meticulous storytelling, Paul Knepper sheds ample light on the life of Moses Malone, who became one of the most important figures the league has ever seen.”-Chris Herring, New York Times bestselling author of Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks“Moses Malone is one of the most underappreciated players in NBA history, so it’s sadly fitting that it has taken decades for a proper biography on Petersburg, Virginia’s, finest to arrive. That’s why I’m elated that Paul Knepper has invested the love and care in crafting Malone’s life story, from his fabled high school days to his work as the 1980s utilitarian, brilliant superstar and beyond. Knepper memorably puts a misunderstood player and man in his place among pro basketball’s giants. Moses Malone: The Life of a Basketball Prophet is worth the wait.”-Pete Croatto, author of From Hang Time to Prime Time: Business, Entertainment, and the Birth of the Modern-Day NBA