Rankings the best NBA nicknames of all time

10. The Mailman

Almost unquestionably, Karl Malone is one of the three greatest power forwards in NBA history. The first round pick, eleventh overall, of the Utah Jazz in the 1985 NBA Draft out of Louisiana Tech, Malone immediately made an impact, teaming up with point guard John Stockton to form a one-two punch which took the league by storm, especially once Jerry Sloan took over the head coaching duties in 1988.

From 1989 through 2002, Malone averaged nearly 27 points and over ten rebounds per game, winning two MVPs, including one in his age-35 season. He accumulated fourteen All-Star selections and eleven straight All-NBA First Team honors from 1989 through 1999. Don’t worry – he bookended those with two All-NBA Second Team selections.

Though he never led the NBA in scoring outright, he is the second-leading scorer in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He holds the NBA records for most free throws attempted and made. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time Hall of Fame inductee. Needless to say, when the time came, Malone typically delivered.

Then again: Malone also holds the record for the most playoff losses by any single NBA player in history. Unlike his Lakers teammate Gary Payton, Malone never won a ring, but that should not matter. Although his nickname was notably susceptible for Scottie Pippen in 1997, the latter telling Malone that the mailman doesn’t deliver on Sundays while at the free throw line down the stretch, the moniker is so unabashedly good that we cannot hold it against him.