Hall-of-Fame center Moses Malone passes away

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Former Houston Rockets guard Moses Malone, three-time NBA MVP, passed away in his sleep Sunday morning according to his close friend and fellow Hall-of-Famer, Calvin Murphy.

Murphy, who is devastated by the news, told FOX 26 Sports Malone passed away of an apparent heart attack.
The two were to play in a golf tournament in Norfolk, VA.

"We came down here together," Murphy said. "Last night we were having a great time.

"This morning we got up to play in a golf tournament and he didn't come to breakfast, which is very unlike Mo. We were all leaving to go to the golf tournament. Finally, they sent security to his room. I guess he had a heart attack in his sleep. This is what was told to me this morning."

Malone played for eight teams during his 20-year NBA career, and was named an All Star 12 times.

Malone, who won an NBA championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983, played for the Rockets from 1976-1982.

Former Rockets guard John Lucas was his teammate in Houston for two years, and very, very briefly in college at Maryland.

"This one hurts a whole lot," Lucas said. "He was my (college) roommate for one day and then he went to the pros.

"I woke up to take him to class and he said 'I think I'm going to the pros.'

"Some people were thinking Darryl Dawkins was the first guy to go out of high school, and it was really Moses."

Malone began his career with Utah in the American Basketball Association in 1974 and moved to the NBA two years later.

"He was one of the best," Lucas said.

Malone was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.