For 18 seasons, the Utah Jazz operated successfully on a rock-solid foundation provided by coach Jerry Sloan and perennial All-Stars John Stockton and Karl Malone.

Two of them are soon-to-be Hall of Famers.

While Sloan and Stockton are scheduled for induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday in Springfield, Mass., however, Malone will have to wait at least another year.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a player must be retired for five years. Because Malone played one season after Stockton retired, his first chance for enshrinement comes in 2010.

Will he make it?

Only the Hall of Fame honors committee can decide, but if anyone is a shoo-in, it's probably Utah's most famous Mailman. The No. 2 scorer in NBA history and a two-time Most Valuable Player, Malone worked his way to the top of his profession, according to those closest to him.

"He made himself a Hall of Fame player," said Sloan. "... He did all the things he needed to do to make himself better."

Attempts to reach Malone were unsuccessful.

But in his first season -- after the Jazz took him with the 13th pick of the 1985 draft -- he showed flashes of stardom. But a glaring weakness in his game appeared every time he strolled to the free-throw line. As a rookie, Malone made 49 percent of his foul shots.

"He wasn't able to make 'em," Sloan said. "It was as simple as that. ... Everybody in the world gave him advice and everybody in the world wanted to take the credit when he improved. They all said, 'I helped make Karl Malone a good free-throw shooter.' But Karl helped Karl. He did the work."

By his third season, Malone shot 70 percent from the line. Late in his career, he was up to 80 percent. So much for the weak link to his game.

"Karl Malone and John Stockton made themselves who they are because that's who they wanted to be," Sloan said. "They weren't afraid to work and they really didn't like being around people who didn't work."

Beyond his free-throw shooting, Malone most obviously improved by turning a slender-looking frame he had at Louisiana Tech into the Mr. America version he put on display in the NBA.

"The way he changed his body always amazed me," Sloan said.

Jazz assistant coach Phil Johnson was equally impressed.

"You just can't imagine how he achieved so many things just through desire and hard work," Johnson said. "What he did with his body -- physically -- was unbelievable. In many ways, he just willed himself to get better."

Another long-time Jazz assistant, Gordon Chiesa, recalls an incident that demonstrated Malone's unparalleled work ethic.

"One time we beat the Lakers in L.A.," Chiesa said. "I go down to the hotel gym at eight o'clock the next morning and I run into Karl. ...

"Ten hours after he scored [37 points] against the Lakers, he's lifting weights. Incredible. So I asked him what he was doing and Karl says, 'I just want to keep my edge.' "

Some edge. With the Jazz, Malone missed 10 games in 18 seasons. He played a full 82-game schedule 10 different times.

"Karl physically carried the franchise for all those years," Chiesa said. "Imagine, 18 straight years with other people trying to stop you, trying to hurt you, trying to do damage to your body. ...

"Mentally, he was just so strong. Everybody on this planet and on the planet Jupiter knew he was going to get the ball. But he still delivered -- every night."

Former Jazz coach and team president Frank Layden believes Sloan, Stockton and Malone fed off each other's energy and determination.

"I think Utah was the right place for Karl and John, too," Layden said. "If they had played somewhere else -- for different tutors other than Jerry -- I don't know if they would have been as great. He had great confidence in them and they had great confidence in him."

After Stockton retired following the 2002-03 season, Malone left Utah. He signed with the Lakers, where he joined Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton in the search of an elusive championship ring. Malone played only half a season because of a knee injury. Then, in the NBA Finals against Detroit, he re-injured the knee. The Pistons upset the heavily-favored Lakers in five games.

"If Karl doesn't get hurt," Layden said, "he probably gets his ring."

Malone's decision to seek a championship with the rival Lakers bothered many fans in Utah. But Chiesa disagrees with them: "When Karl moved on, it was a perfectly logical progression. He was trying to win a championship."

Still, the Lakers' loss to the Pistons means Malone will always have to live with the burden -- like Sloan and Stockton -- of never having won a title.

"All the talking heads say, 'The ring is the thing,'" Chiesa said. "But no one can tell me Karl and John and Reggie Miller and Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin and Charles Barkley aren't champions. They were just on teams that couldn't quite get over that one hurdle."

Stockton, for one, is looking forward to Malone's likely induction next year.

"Karl is one of the best players in the history of the game -- period -- regardless of position," he said. "I don't mean to tell people how to vote, but to me it's a no-brainer. He's got to be unanimous. I'm looking forward to another trip [to Springfield] ... to honor my buddy."

luhm@sltrib.com