Karl Malone is one of the greatest scorers in NBA history but he was also one of the roughest players of his generation.
The era of '90s basketball is often glamorized for its physicality and slower pace compared to the modern game which is faster, de-incentivizes contacts, and focuses on fine skills a lot more. While both eras have pros and cons, the modern NBA is a much cleaner product that can appeal to every corner of the world and is growing in popularity every season.
The '90s era is good for its time, as evidenced by how one of the greatest scorers of the time, Karl Malone, used to play. Malone is the third-highest scorer in NBA history and enjoyed a long and prosperous career in the league, though he never won a championship. There was a dark side to Malone's game which included him violently elbowing opponents during a matchup.
He clocked various star players over the years such as Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, David Robinson, Steve Nash, and others. A fan shared a compilation of the gruesome hits Malone delivered on a basketball court.
The hits on Robinson and Elliot Robinson were exceptionally brutal. Those were MMA-style knockouts. While physicality might be a little too muted in this era, there is no professional basketball league that wants this kind of violence during games.
Is The Era Of Physicality Over?
Malone isn't the only player in the 1990s that was guilty of playing this style. The reason he did it is because every big man in the NBA did it. Isiah Thomas may have been clocked by Malone, but his Bad Boy Pistons teammates put players through a world of hurt every time they faced them.
The modern NBA can have moments of physicality and bullying, but the game has completely changed in the years since. Even minimal physical contact can lead to fouls, which has made the game a little harder to officiate. However, if strict penalties are the reason the era of physicality is over, maybe it is a good thing.
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