SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – No Utah Jazz fans, you don’t see double, there are actually two versions of Karl Malone standing in front of the Vivint Arena.
In a photo posted to Twitter by Malone’s son KJ, the Hall of Fame forward is seen standing next to the statue in the squad’s arena plaza as the Jazz prepare to open their playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
Malone, dressed in his patented plaid shirt, long pants and work boots, leans against his statue, looking as low-key as a 6-foot-9, 260-pound man can do while standing next to the 15 foot tall bronze monolith that bears his likeness.
In a separate video post, Malone, now grizzled, takes off his sunglasses and says “Giddy up, cowboy, you know the rest”.
The tanned statue of Malone sits next to that of his Hall of Fame teammate John Stockton, both of whom have been in the inner city arena for over 15 years.
Having retired in 2004, Malone now resides in Louisiana where he still attends jazz games on television, but rarely attends them in person. The star retreated to his secluded home near where he grew up and, like Stockton, mostly avoided the public spotlight.
Although the elder Malone has quit social media, KJ is far from shy about his ongoing jazz fandom.
After a distinguished footballing career at LSU, KJ Malone retired from the game after a rookie minicamp with the Houston Texans in 2019 and has been a frequent visitor to both home and road jazz games in recent seasons. .
The presence of Malone’s son on social media also allowed Jazz fans to keep an eye on the retired two-time MVP.
With Malone and his family set to return to Vivint Arena to open the second round, jazz fans will be happy to reunite with the former superstar at home.