Moses Malone

The Life of a Basketball Prophet

Paul Knepper

$85.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

University of Nebraska Press
01 November 2025

Biography: sport; Basketball

Moses Malone overcame abject poverty in segregated Petersburg, Virginia, to become the first modern-day basketball player to jump directly from high school to the pros, paving a path for future stars such as Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James to follow. Moses Malone: The Life of a Basketball Prophet tells the story of Malone’s ascent in the early 1970s to becoming the premier player in the world for a five-year period.

The young Malone prophesied his improbable rise and succeeded where others later failed because of his strength of character and unparalleled work ethic. Malone dominated his years in the NBA with a relentless determination that made him the greatest offensive rebounder in basketball history-a record he holds to this day. From 1979 to 1983 he won three of the NBA’s Most Valuable Player awards and with Julius Erving helped to deliver the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA championship in 1983. He remains one of just nine players to win the NBA MVP award three or more times.

In many ways Malone was an anti-superstar. He lacked a signature move, displayed almost no ego, and shunned the spotlight to the detriment of his commercial appeal. Shy by nature and self-conscious about a speech impediment, Moses kept his distance from the media, some of whom mistook his reticence for stupidity. A man of few words, he possessed a magnetism rooted in humility, authenticity, and passion.

Moses was a giver, equally generous in assisting a friend as he was mentoring younger players, including Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon. While his contemporaries preened for the cameras, Moses remained the “lunch pail superstar,” a quiet and humble teammate who expressed himself through his tireless effort on the court and compassion off it.

By: Paul Knepper
Imprint: University of Nebraska Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781496238979
ISBN 10: 1496238974
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 01 November 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

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.

Reviews for Moses Malone: The Life of a Basketball Prophet

“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 best-seller Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion