Moses Malone, 60, died of cardiovascular disease and had a heart monitor with him when he died
- Malone was found dead in a Norfolk hotel Sunday morning just days after a friend said he saw a doctor about an irregular heartbeat
- A friend of Malone said the former NBA star saw a doctor about an irregular heart beat less than a week before he died
- A medical examiner said Malone died of natural causes with cause of death listed as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
Hall of Fame basketball player Moses Malone's death was caused by cardiovascular disease, the Virginia medical examiner's office said Monday.
Malone was found dead in a Norfolk hotel Sunday morning. He was 60.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Malone died of natural causes. The cause of Malone's death was listed as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
A friend of Malone said the former NBA star saw a doctor about an irregular heart beat less than a week before he died.
Cause of death: Hall of Fame basketball player Moses Malone's death was caused by cardiovascular disease, the Virginia medical examiner's office said Monday
Kevin Vergara told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Malone went to a doctor in Houston after he felt his heart skip a beat during a workout. Vergara said Malone had a heart monitor issued by the doctor on when he found him in the hotel room after the former NBA star failed to show up for breakfast or answer his phone.
Vergara lives in Hopewell. As a youth basketball player, one of his coaches was Ed Gholson, who played against Malone in the Petersburg-Hopewell rivalry.
Malone was friends with Gholson, and he later became friends with Vergara.
'We talked every day, literally,' Vergara said.
On Sunday, Malone was scheduled to play in NBA referee Tony Brothers' golf tournament to support single mothers. Malone had participated each of the past six or seven years.
Malone, a three-time NBA MVP and one of basketball's most ferocious rebounders, had been scheduled to appear at a charity golf event in Norfolk. Just days earlier, he'd seen a doctor about an irregular heartbeat
When he retired in 1995, Malone was one of the league's top scorers and rebounders, having made more free throws than any other player, according to his hall of fame biography
Malone talked about operating his own charity golf event in Petersburg. Vergara said he might start one in Malone's memory.
Malone, a three-time NBA MVP and one of basketball's most ferocious rebounders, had been scheduled to appear at a charity golf event in Norfolk.
Malone had just attended this weekend's enshrinement ceremonies at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Nicknamed the 'Chairman of the Boards,' Malone was inducted himself in 2001 and remains in the NBA's top 10 in career scoring and rebounding.
'With three MVPs and an NBA championship, he was among the most dominant centers ever to play the game and one of the best players in the history of the NBA and the ABA,' NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.
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