In his three seasons with Louisiana Tech, he helped the Bulldogs basketball team to its first-ever NCAA tournament in 1984 and to first place in the Southland Conference in 1985.

Malone also competed with the United States national team in the Summer Olympic Games of 1992 and 1996; in both years he won gold medals.

He attended Summerfield High School and led his basketball team to three consecutive Louisiana Class C titles from 1979 to his senior season in 1981.

He joined the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team in his second year because his grades were too low for freshman eligibility; Malone played under coach Andy Russo.

[14] Under head coach Frank Layden, Malone averaged 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds in his first season and made the 1986 NBA All-Rookie Team after coming in third for Rookie of the Year votes.

Malone scored 29 points in that game, including four free throws followed by a three-pointer by Pace Mannion to rally from a 96–89 deficit with 5 minutes and 36 seconds remaining to a 96–96 tie.

[17] In the next round, the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers, led by perennial All-Stars Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, defeated the Jazz in seven games.

In the seventh game of the series, Malone scored 31 points and had 15 rebounds, but the Lakers beat the Jazz 109–98 and eventually won the 1988 NBA Finals.

The Jazz, finishing the season 55–27, lost to the Phoenix Suns within five games in the first round of the playoffs, in which Malone averaged 25.2 points and 10.2 rebounds.

He was among four Jazz players with double-figure scoring averages, the others being the newly acquired Jeff Malone (no relation) as well as John Stockton and Thurl Bailey.

[13] It was also a breakout season for the Jazz; during the 1992 NBA Playoffs, the team made the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

[27] In its first-ever franchise Western Conference Finals appearance, in six games the Jazz lost in the playoffs for the second straight season to the Portland Trail Blazers.

[13] Malone started all 82 games of 1993–94 and helped the Jazz make the Western Conference Finals for the second time in franchise history and his career.

[28] The Jazz only made it as far as the Western Conference Finals in this period, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers (1992), the Houston Rockets (1994) and the Seattle SuperSonics (1996).

Malone returned from a gold medal winning-effort at the 1996 Summer Olympics leading the Jazz to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances.

During the 1996–97 season, Malone put up a resurgent 27.4 points per game while leading the Jazz to a 64–18 record, the most regular-season wins in team history.

The Jazz once again were seated at the top of the Western Conference, and in the 1998 playoffs they defeated the Rockets, Spurs, and Lakers via a sweep en route to their second consecutive Finals appearance.

Malone found himself unable to put up consistently high numbers, due in large part to the swarming defense of defenders Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen.

[citation needed] Playing coach Jerry Sloan's scrappy and tough style and perfecting the pick and roll to a maximum degree of efficiency, the Jazz regularly made the playoffs with a winning record.

The Lakers rolled out to a dominant 18–3 start to the season, but on December 21, Malone suffered a knee injury against the Phoenix Suns that forced him to miss 39 games.

The Lakers advanced to face the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals, where Malone played a critical role on defense against Tim Duncan, despite not scoring more than 13 points in any game during the series.

He had knee surgery during the summer of 2004, and personal problems[40] with Lakers guard Kobe Bryant[41] prompted Malone not to return for another season with the team.

[43] Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich confirmed his team was interested in signing Malone, should he decide to play one more season.

[61][62] In a poorly received match by some wrestling critics, the two power forwards exchanged "rudimentary headlocks, slams and clotheslines" for 23 minutes.

The newspaper alleged that he was the father of three children: two by Bonita Ford, a woman approximately his age from his hometown of Summerfield, Louisiana, and one with Gloria Bell, who was 13 when she gave birth.

The paper also reported that applying the same blood sample to the Ford twins resulted in a similarly high probability of paternity by Malone.

[73][74] According to the Tribune, Malone challenged the court's ruling with regard to Bell, claiming that the judgment holding him responsible for $125 per week in child support, plus past and future medical expenses, was excessive.

In the case of the Ford twins, Malone was ruled to be their father when he violated a court order by refusing to reveal his assets or submit to a DNA test.

[75] Since that time, Karl Malone has maintained a relationship with the twins, each of whom later played college basketball at his alma mater, Louisiana Tech.

[86] He has also appeared in television commercials for LA Gear sneakers,[87] Starter,[88] Morris Air Service,[89] Upper Deck,[90] and Burger King.