Washington Wizards: 30 greatest players in franchise history

Shooting guard Jeff Malone could be considered the first consistent mid-range shooter for Bullets. He wasn’t necessarily Bradley Beal, but was an effective scorer nonetheless.

Malone was the 10th overall pick by the Bullets in the 1983 NBA Draft out of Mississippi State University. During his rookie year, he averaged 12.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, earning First-Team All-Rookie honors for his performance. As a rookie, he shot 44.4 percent from the field through 81 contests.

Malone played for the Bullets from 1983-90, averaging 20.2 points, 2.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 458 appearances. He made consecutive All-Star game appearances in the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons.

In 1985-86, he put up 22.4 points per game and in 1986-87, he put up 22.0 points per game. In his final season with Washington in 1989-90, he averaged a career-high 24.3 points per contest on 49.1 percent shooting

Malone made five playoff appearances as a member of the Bullets, although they never made it out of the first round. He was productive nonetheless, putting up 25.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in the 1988 NBA Playoffs in the first round against the Detroit Pistons. In 21 postseason appearances for the Bullets, he averaged 17.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

After the 1989-90 season, Malone was traded to the Utah Jazz in a three-team trade. He spent four seasons with the Jazz, three with the Sixers and the final seven games of his career with the Miami Heat in the 1995-96 season. Currently, he ranks second in franchise history in points (11,083) and 11th in franchise history in points per game (20.2).