"Miracle of miracles, we had Stockton and Malone as the co-MVPs — in the Delta Center," Stern said with a chuckle. "Isn't that amazing? Really, it was just a nice time and a wonderful weekend in Salt Lake City. It was just terrific and we were thrilled that those two guys were able to do so well in front of the hometown crowd."

Stern is grateful to Malone for his help, both on the court and off, in promoting the NBA and for the many charitable causes to which he donated time and money.

"I appreciated Karl's commitment to the United States. In winning the gold medal in 1992 and '96, he showcased the NBA to the world," said Stern.

"I'm not a memory-moment person. I prefer to have a reel that goes round and around," said Stern. "Karl Malone's reel is not one that just shows basketball footage. It shows his desire to represent his country well. It shows the willingness to go talk to the troops at Camp Pendleton. It shows Karl taking his rig down to Louisiana to help his fellow Louisianans with much-needed supplies following the horrors of Katrina. It shows him doing things to help people that the Jazz public relations staff wouldn't find out about until after the fact. He would do these things just because it was the right thing to do. To me, those things are all on the reel when it comes to a Karl Malone highlight film."

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E-mail: lojo@desnews.com