Moses Malone: Another Sixers great gone too soon

Too young. Too soon. Too sad.

That's what crosses your mind first when you wake up on a Sunday morning and find out that Moses Malone has died at the age of 60.

Way too young.

It was a little more than two weeks ago that we lost Darryl Dawkins, the vibrant, backboard-shattering giant whose departure from the 76ers in 1982 made room for Malone to become the team's missing link to an NBA title. One enormous character gone at the age of 58 and now the lunch-pail legend that followed Chocolate Thunder to Philadelphia is no longer with us, either.

Way too soon.

The 76ers, a desolate franchise on the court in recent years, now have reason to be overcome with grief off it. The team posted a statement on its website and the final three sentences provided an apt summation of the man and the emotions so many 76ers fans must be feeling.

"No one person has ever conveyed more with so few words - including three of the most iconic in this city's history," the statement read. "His generosity, towering personality and incomparable sense of humor will truly be missed. We will keep his family in our thoughts and prayers as we are once again reminded of the preciousness of life."

Way too sad.

Once you're resigned to the sorrow of Moses' passing, the memories come flooding back. Those of us old enough and lucky enough to remember that special 1982-83 season will swear those 76ers were better than any single-season NBA team in history. Better than Wilt's 68-win Sixers team in '67. Better than Michael Jordan's 72-win Chicago Bulls team in '96. Better than every single one of Bill Russell's great Boston Celtics teams and all those great Los Angeles Lakers teams, too.

As for the three iconic words, it was actually only one word repeated three times. And it was never uttered in public. Instead, Billy Cunningham told reporters before the start of the 1983 playoffs that Moses had uttered "four, four, four" when the coach asked him about his playoff attitude.

This was Moses' actual quote: "I ain't saying we're going to sweep everybody in four games. I'm just saying, if we have an idea of winning the championship, the best thing to do is win it as fast as we can.

"I like our chances, sure. I think we're the team to beat. We had the best record, we got a bye in the first round. We'll be ready. This is something we all want."

Stan Hochman, the late Daily News columnist, later changed it to "Fo', fo', fo' " in a column he wrote after the Sixers swept the New York Knicks in the second round.

Concern had arisen as the Sixers sat through their first-round bye because tendinitis in Moses' knees was barking. Remember, this was Philadelphia. These were the 76ers, a team that had lost in the NBA Finals three times in the previous six years, a team that had blown a three-games-to-one lead in an Eastern Conference final against Boston in 1981.

Undaunted and perhaps even unaware of the team's heartbreaking history, Moses made bold predictions all season. He said in training camp the Sixers could be the first NBA team to win 70 games.

The 76ers won only 65 games, but they could have won 70 if Cunningham had not pulled back the reins in favor of rest for what would be an unprecedented 12-1 run through the postseason.

The Sixers swept the New York Knicks but needed five games to dispose of the Milwaukee Bucks before they also swept away all their demons and the Lakers to win the team's first title since 1967. That team, of course, was led by Wilt Chamberlain, another giant who left us far too soon.

Four, five, four was followed by a parade down Broad Street that culminated with a party at Veterans Stadium. It remained the city's last championship parade until the Phillies finally won another title in 2008.

As soon as the 76ers made the long-delayed and complicated free-agent deal that brought Malone to Philadelphia for Caldwell Jones and a future first-round draft pick, everyone knew that the franchise's years of being so frustratingly close were about to end.

This is what Rod Thorn, then the Bulls general manager, said at the time: "Let's face it. Moses is a unique talent in that he's the best offensive rebounder who ever played the game."

That was 32 years ago and it's still true today. The images remain fresh. Moses misses a layup, grabs his own rebound and misses again. Before the ball headed the other direction, however, it was assuredly going in the basket.

Malone led the NBA in overall rebounding five times and in offensive rebounds eight times. He ranks third all-time in overall rebounds and first in offensive rebounds.

Even Lakers coach Pat Riley, whose team had beaten the Sixers in the NBA Finals the year before, knew that Moses' acquisition meant something special for Philadelphia.

"More than anything," Riley said at the time, "this deal might serve as a psychological message to the team that 'Hey, we're going for the whole thing,' and that might be enough."

It was.

Success, however, was fleeting. After the Sixers suffered a first-round playoff loss to the New Jersey Nets the next year and failed to get past the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals in 1985, Moses was traded to the Washington Bullets.

That was one depressing day that led to a lot of bleak years for the Sixers. Waking up to the news Sunday that Moses was gone, however, will always rank as one of saddest days in the franchise's history.

@brookob