After 20 seasons, the word used to describe Moses Malone, man of many rebounds and few syllables, essentially remains the same.

The word explains, as well as anything, how a slender high school prodigy leaped to the pros with unparalleled ease, grew from an ABA oddity into the greatest offensive rebounding center in history and finally evolved into a revered NBA dinosaur at 38.

The word is relentless.

''He was relentless, and so smart in getting good position,'' said Billy Cunningham, coach of the 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers, who became champs thanks to Malone's overpowering presence. ''He would just wear people down physically. The more physical he got, the more productive he became. ... He had something within him, a fire. I can't think of anyone who compares to him.''

''Moses works very hard on both ends every night,'' said Boston's Robert Parish, the NBA's other relic at center. ''He was in a position to take a night off and cruise if he wanted to, but he never did. It's that I respect most about him.''

Everyone in basketball respects Moses Eugene Malone, the NBA's last active link to the ABA. His enormous achievements are easy to overlook - he led the NBA in rebounding five times and offensive rebounding eight times, led the league in minutes played twice and free throws made three times, and hasn't fouled out of a game since 1977-78 - but his career will never be overlooked.

Having returned to Philadelphia, the city where he won his only championship ring, Malone is still capable of sporadically commandeering the paint.

Although back surgery limited him to 11 games with Milwaukee last year, Malone was given a $2 million deal to be a 15 minute-a-night backup and special tutor to 7-6 rookie Shawn Bradley.

''Moses helps Shawn by his work ethic, by talking to him and by going up against him every day,'' Sixers coach Fred Carter said. ''We told Shawn to listen to everything Moses says, because Moses parted the Red Sea.''

In a league of acrobats and 7-foot jump shooters, Malone's game remains anchored in the blocks.

''Everyone wants to be flashy, but Moses is still doing the same things - throwing it off the glass and going to get it,'' Parish said. ''He knows all the tricks. And he got all the calls. All of them.''

He has thrived because he has always followed one blue-collar commandment: Thou shalt go to the glass, again and again.

''Certain guys like (Paul) Silas, (Charles) Oakley and (Dennis) Rodman are relentless, rebounding fools who take pride in that,'' said Pacers coach Larry Brown. ''But at center, you don't find guys who are rebounding fools on both ends. Moses was an offensive rebounding center, which was unique.''

''You knew he was coming and, half the time, you couldn't stop him anyway,'' said Sixers assistant coach Jeff Ruland, who was traded for Malone in 1986.

''He still starts to rebound just before he shoots,'' said former NBA coach Bill Fitch.

Malone developed his brute style of play on the playgrounds of Petersburg. It ultimately enabled him to free his mother, Mary, from her $100-a-week grocery packing job and move her out of their house with the ramshackle steps and milk crate as a living-room coffee table.

At age 14, Malone had written on a piece of paper that he wanted to be a pro by 19. He put the paper in his Bible. College recruiters who flocked to see the quiet teen-age Moses and expected to find an easy mark were surprised. Malone had unerring instincts. He repelled a sales pitch from Oral Roberts, who reportedly offered to heal his mother's ulcer if Moses attended the college. And he left an apoplectic Maryland coach Lefty Driesell at the altar to sign a five-year deal for approximately $1 million with the ABA Utah Stars prior to 1974-75.

The prophecy was fulfilled, but Moses was still just a child among men, albeit a special one.

''People who saw him at that time said what a skinny kid he was. He probably weighed 210 at most,'' said Bucky Buckwalter, who won the wooing war and was Malone's first coach in Utah. ''Watching him you could tell he was something special, that he had a nose for the ball. ... I thought it would be difficult for him. Going from (predominantly black) Petersburg, Virginia, to Salt Lake City is a culture shock that would be tough for anyone. But from Day 1, he fit in.''

''Coming out of high school, I had an attitude. I wasn't afraid,'' Malone said. ''I loved a challenge. That's why I became a player. Not a superstar. A player. I always thought I was No. 1. I loved the contact, which is the way I learned on the playground.''

Still, the NBA wasn't so sure about Malone at the time of the ABA dispersal draft. In fact, Portland, already blessed with Bill Walton at center, picked Malone with the advance intention of dealing him to Buffalo for a draft pick before training camp ended. Malone also went from the Braves to the Rockets before 1976-77 was over.

There was a run to the NBA finals with the Rockets in 1980-81 and, finally, the deal that allowed Malone to flee Houston for Philadelphia as a free agent. Because his addition resulted in the departure of the popular Caldwell Jones, some Sixers veterans were unsettled by Moses' arrival. However, Cunningham knew that a nucleus of Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones wasn't enough, that Malone was the missing ingredient.

''One of the things we were missing was physical presence,'' Cunningham said. ''Moses added a lot more than that, but we thrived on that. After a few days of training camp, he was embraced by his teammates. He didn't say a lot, of course, but he had a presence. When he said, `Let's go. It's time to turn it up a notch,' they did.''

Now, more than a decade later, Malone is back in Philly, averaging 7.0 points and 5.4 rebounds going into the weekend. He is slower than ever, but is still contributing.

''I'm not surprised he's still playing,'' said ex-Rocket teammate Calvin Murphy. ''I'm just surprised he is not playing more minutes.''

Nobody will have to tell Malone it's time to go once he senses the inner fire that has made him special and so relentless for so many years no longer burns within.

''Once I lose interest, it's over,'' Malone said recently. ''I don't want to be around just trying to get a check. I want to produce. I want to deserve to get paid.''

Copyright © 2021, Daily Press