Moses Malone Rumors
Besides Walton and Harden, only a select few former MVPs have received votes for the Sixth Man of the Year award. These include Bob McAdoo in 1985 (sixth place), Moses Malone in 1991 (sixth place), Magic Johnson during his brief 1996 comeback (fifth place), and Derrick Rose from 2019 to 2021, with his best result being a third-place finish two seasons ago. With no serious injuries or comebacks from retirement to be considered, only McAdoo and Malone’s late careers as bench players are similar to Westbrook’s situation — and neither of them was really close to winning the award.
ESPN Stats: Giannis Antetokounmpo is the 3rd player since the 1976-77 merger to have a 3-game streak of 40 points and 10 rebounds. The other two: Russell Westbrook and Moses Malone. Neither reached a 4th straight. Giannis has scored 20+ points in each of his last 6 halves of basketball.
Giannis Antetokounmpo the first player to record back-to-back 40 point, 20 rebound games since 1982

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 43 points, 20 rebounds and five assists as Milwaukee defeated Minnesota 123-114 on Friday night. Here’s what you need to know: * Antetokounmpo becomes the first player since Moses Malone in 1982 to record consecutive 40 point, 20 rebound games. * Antetokounmpo also converted 14 free throws en route to victory. * The Bucks overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to defeat the Timberwolves and snap Milwaukee’s four-game losing streak.
Zach Lowe: Trivia: Steven Adams leads the league w/ a 19.3% offensive rebounding rate. Only 3 players have cracked 19% over a full season (minimum: 1000 mins), per @Basketball-Reference: Moses Malone (3X), Dennis Rodman (2X), Jayson Williams (2X). Rodman’s ’94-95 figure — 20.8% — is No. 1 all-time.
Justin Kubatko: Anthony Davis last night: ✅ 30 PTS ✅ 18 REB ✅ 12-19 FG He’s one of three players since the ABA-NBA merger to record three straight 30-point, 15-rebound games while shooting 60% from the field: ✅ Moses Malone (2x) ✅ Shaquille O’Neal ✅ Davis More: open.substack.com/pub/statitudes…
Now, Hayes’ jersey will hang in the rafters forever, joining former Rockets players Clyde Drexler, Moses Malone, Calvin Murphy, Hakeem Olajuwon, Rudy Tomjanovich and Yao Ming. “Receiving this tonight is probably one of the greatest honors,” Hayes said. “I have received many honors in the game of basketball. But this one is really super great because of the fact that it is in Houston where everything began for me at the University of Houston, and then going to San Diego and then becoming a part of the Houston Rockets again. It is just really a great honor and a great opportunity for me to be able to have this night now.”
The Denver Nuggets have signed two-time MVP center Nikola Jokić to a multiyear contract extension, KSE Vice Chairman Josh Kroenke and General Manager Calvin Booth announced today. Jokić was named the 2021-22 KIA NBA MVP, becoming the 13th player in NBA history to earn back-to-back MVP’s and the first center to do so since Moses Malone in 1982-83. He was the first player in NBA history to average 25+ points, 13+ rebounds and 6+ assists for an entire season and he also became the first player in NBA history to record at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a single season. Joker became the first Nugget in franchise history to be named the league’s Most Valuable Player after his stellar 2020-21 campaign earned him that distinction.