October 1985: Karl Malone and Patrick Ewing make their NBA debuts a night apart

Oct 15, 2026

Back-to-back nights

Karl Malone debuted for Utah on Oct. 25, 1985. Patrick Ewing, the No. 1 pick, debuted for New York the next night.

Malone: eight points

Off the bench in a 112-108 loss to Houston, Malone scored 8 on 4-of-11 shooting, missed both free throws and had 4 steals.

Stockton beside him

John Stockton had 11 points and 12 assists off the same bench, the first of 1,400-plus games the pair played together.

Ewing: 18 in 44 minutes

Ewing went 8 of 21 for 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks as the Knicks lost 99-89 to Philadelphia at the Garden.

Moses had 35

Moses Malone scored 35 with 13 rebounds for the 76ers. Julius Erving added 20 and Charles Barkley grabbed 14 boards.

Rookie seasons

Malone averaged 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds. Ewing averaged 20.0 points and 9.0 rebounds and won Rookie of the Year.

What they became

Malone scored 36,928 points and won two MVPs. Ewing is the Knicks’ career scoring leader. Both reached the Hall of Fame.

Photo credit

The Karl Malone statue outside the Jazz arena in Salt Lake City, photographed in 2017. Photo by Yassie, CC-BY-SA-4.0, resized.

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