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Former Utah Jazz great Karl Malone recently pulled a fast one on New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis.
Davis was under the impression that he would be taking part in a promotional shoot for Red Bull. However, Malone, who was disguised as “Sam the Maintenance Man,” had other plans.
“Respect your elders around here,” Malone said as his costume was being finished in the locker room. “I am no longer The Mailman. I'm the maintenance man — Sam.”
Malone, fully-clad in a janitor's onesie, a wig of dreadlocks, glasses, and a fake belly, played his role to perfection. The 14-time All-Star looked inconspicuous in his disguise, but it was his actions that began to frustrate Davis.
Malone made his way onto the floor, holding a squeegee.
“Come on into my office,” Malone said to himself as he dried the court near the low block, waiting for Davis to arrive. “This is where I do my best work — right in here.”
“This is my kingdom,” Malone said as he cruised the floor burnisher from one end of the court to the other.
As Davis made his way through the tunnel, he was given a quick briefing on the supposed video shoot for Red Bull. Once he was within shouting distance of Malone — or “Sam” — the shenanigans ensued.
“Awful quiet in here!” Malone belted from the top row of bleachers. “(Can we) listen to a little jazz around this place?”
“(Nah), we're good, man,” Davis' constituent said in response. “Thank you. We're good.”
“Don't want my jazz music?” Malone said under his breathe. “Who cares.”
After a few quick lay-ups for photo-ops, Davis took his place near mid-court for the first portion of the shoot. As he began to speak, Malone — nonchalantly carrying a ladder this time — gets caught in the background of the frame, forcing an interruption in the filming.
“Excuse me, sir,” the director said to Malone. “Can you move that (ladder)?”
“What do you want me to do?” Malone replied, making a scene. “I'm just going with what you guys asked me to do. Somebody said they wanted a ladder.”
“Make up your mind what you want,” Malone said under his breathe as he walked away.
Davis couldn't help but notice the awkwardness in this maintenance man, but he soldiered through to the next portion of the shoot.
Que another interruption…
“Will somebody tell me what's going on here?” Malone said in a demanding tone. “You guys told me what time you'd be finished here. I've gotta be somewhere. This is my place here.”
Davis stood on a ladder under the hoop and couldn't help but reply.
“This ain't your place,” Davis said, looking back at Malone. “You don't own this.”
“You ain't gotta be touchy,” Malone replied. “I just want to know what we're doing around here.”
“Sherm!,” Davis said, calling for his security team. “Get him out of here.”
Malone, still disguised as “Sam the Maintenance Man,” was then escorted off the floor, only to return later for one final intrusion.
As Davis and his trainers were running a few drills for the cameras, Malone came cruising back in on the floor burnisher, which he then ran into a light that was being used on the set.
“My assist man, John, he'll get that later,” Malone said as he approached Davis and his crew, covertly referring to Jazz legend John Stockton. “I'll just go back to my job as a mailman.”
“Why somebody didn't tell me?” Malone asked as he stood before the group. “That's Anthony Davis.”
“Can I get your autograph?” Malone asked as he handed Davis a basketball. “To Karl Malone…”
Davis, now aware of what has happened, immediately began to laugh. In fact, the two athletes nearly fell over in laughter.
“When he said, ‘my job as a mailman,' I thought, ‘He kind of looks like him, too,'” Davis said once the gig was up. That was a good one!”
Without a doubt, The Mailman was hard to deal with in the paint, but it's his sense of humor that caught Davis off guard this time.
