At 34, the King of New York Bernard King underwent surgery without the team's consent and was abandoned, retiring. A year after his retirement, he went to his backyard to shoot hoops every day, stopping only after scoring 345 points, because he deeply regretted not reaching a career total of 20,000 points, falling short by just 345 points, and this was the only way he could console himself.
In the last five years of his career, Moses Malone wandered around like a beggar, willing to play as a substitute, so much so that people forgot he was a superstar.
Another Malone, the Mailman, became a sidekick to Kobe in his later years, lacking the persona of the 90s' powerhouse, and ultimately did not earn a championship.
Stat-obsessed Wilt Chamberlain became a defensive blue-collar player who averaged fewer than 10 shots per game in his final years, scoring only 12 points per game in his championship-winning season.
