Mystery Player #79
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 · already played
The answer
Spoiler for the puzzle of Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Today's puzzle is not revealed anywhere on this page.
Moses Malone
C · 1976–1995
Moses Malone's career
Moses Malone played 19 seasons between 1976 and 1995, across 7 franchises — Clippers, Rockets, 76ers, Wizards, Hawks, Bucks and Spurs. Over 1,329 regular-season games he averaged 20.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists, finishing with 27,409 career points. He was 3× MVP, 1× Finals MVP, 12× All-Star, 8× All-NBA, 1× champion and member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Moses Malone was never drafted, reaching the NBA as an undrafted free agent — a route that makes the length of his career the more notable part of it.
Across a unusually long career of 19 seasons he was a primary scoring option at 20.6 points per game. On the glass he was among the players a team could build a defence around.
- Games
- 1,329
- PPG
- 20.6
- RPG
- 12.2
- APG
- 1.4
- Points
- 27,409
- Rebounds
- 16,212
- Assists
- 1,796
- 3PM
- 8
Teams
- Clippers · 1977
- Rockets · 1977–1982
- 76ers · 1983–1986
- Wizards · 1987–1988
- Hawks · 1989–1991
- Bucks · 1992–1993
- 76ers · 1994
- Spurs · 1995
Honours
3× MVP · 1× Finals MVP · 12× All-Star · 8× All-NBA · 2× All-Defensive · 1× NBA champion · NBA 75th Anniversary Team
How the clues read
Every guess that day was scored against Moses Malone across nine categories. These were the values behind the grid.
- Position:
- C
- Debut season:
- 1976
- Status:
- Retired
- Nationality:
- USA
- Teams:
- Clippers, Rockets, 76ers, Wizards, Hawks, Bucks, 76ers, Spurs
- Points per game:
- 20.6
- Championships:
- 1
- All-Star selections:
- 12
Why this was a fair answer
Answers are never obscure by design: the pool is every NBA All-Star who debuted in the 1969-70 season or later, plus current players carrying a real scoring role. Moses Malone qualifies on the first route, with 12 All-Star selections — one of the most decorated players of his generation. He was later named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
With 7 franchises on his record, the shared-team clue was unusually generous here — a wide range of guesses would have lit it up green and pointed the wrong way as often as the right one. The debut arrow was the fastest way in: anyone opening with a modern player would have been sent back decades immediately. The 1 championship ring were another strong signal — most of the pool has none.
Play it yourself
This puzzle is still replayable — open Mystery Player #79 in the archive to play the round exactly as it was, or start today's puzzle. Archive rounds never affect your daily streak.