ABA players of undergraduate age. However, the NBA let them place Malone into the 1976 ABA Dispersal Draft pool in exchange for the return of their first-round draft pick in 1977, which they used to trade for Gail Goodrich. In the 1976 dispersal draft, held for the remaining ABA players, Malone was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the fifth overall pick. The Blazers, who had also acquired power forward Maurice Lucas in the draft, chose Malone for trading purposes. With a frontline of Lucas, Bill Walton and Lloyd Neal, Portland figured Malone would see little action. They traded him to the Buffalo Braves prior to the first game of the 1976–77 season for a first-round draft choice in the 1978 NBA draft and $232,000. Malone played in two games with Buffalo. Because they could not meet Malone's demands for playing time, they then traded him to the Houston Rockets in exchange for first-round draft picks in the 1977 and 1978 drafts. Houston Rockets (1976–1982) 1976–77 season With the Houston Rockets, Malone played forward opposite Rudy Tomjanovich. He appeared in 82 games overall for both Buffalo and Houston and finished the season averaging 13.2 points per game (ppg) with 13.1 rebounds per game (rpg), ranking third in rpg. Malone set a then-NBA record with 437 offensive rebounds in a season, going on to surpass the mark two years later. Malone also blocked 2.21 shots per game, the seventh-most in the league. In the second game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Washington Bullets, Malone recorded 15 offensive rebounds in the overtime win, setting an NBA playoff record. The Rockets reached the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost 4–2 to the Philadelphia 76ers, his future team. 1977–78 season: First All-Star selection During his second season in the NBA, Malone was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot, which caused him to miss the final 23 games. Despite the time missed to injury, Malone led the NBA with 380 total offensive rebounds and finished second with 15.0 rpg. His scoring improved to 19.4 ppg, and he made his first appearance in an NBA All-Star Game in 1978. 1978–79 season: First MVP award During the 1978–79 season, Malone emerged as one of the top centers in the league after gaining in the offseason. He averaged 24.8 points with a career-best .540 shooting percentage and established another career high with