Bam Adebayo vs. Karl Malone Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl Malone and Bam Adebayo, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Bam Adebayo played 8 years in the NBA, 11 less than Karl Malone, who played 19. Bam Adebayo had the first of his seasons in 2017-18, while Karl Malone had his rookie season in 1985-86. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Bam Adebayo	Karl Malone
Season	2017-18	1985-86
Team	Miami Heat	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	69	19.8	6.9	1.7	3.8	5.5	1.5	0.5	0.6	1.0	2.0	2.5	4.9	.512	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	2.6	.721
difference:	+12	+10.8	+8.0	+0.4	+2.9	+3.4	+1.4	+0.8	+0.1	-2.4	-1.6	+3.7	+7.6	+.016		+0.1		+0.5	+2.4	+.240
Karl Malone	81	30.6	14.9	2.1	6.7	8.9	2.9	1.3	0.5	3.4	3.6	6.2	12.5	.496	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	5.0	.481
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	5	15.4	3.4	1.8	2.2	4.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4	1.6	1.4	3.0	.467	0.0	0.2	.000	0.6	2.8	.214
difference:	+1	+20.6	+18.4	+0.3	+3.8	+3.5	+1.0	+2.0	+0.4	-1.1	-2.9	+8.1	+15.0	+.061		+0.2		+2.2	+3.7	+.209
Karl Malone	4	36.0	21.8	1.5	6.0	7.5	1.0	2.0	0.0	1.5	4.5	9.5	18.0	.528	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	6.5	.423

Season 3
	Bam Adebayo	Karl Malone
Season	2019-20	1987-88
Team	Miami Heat	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	72	33.6	15.9	2.4	7.8	10.2	5.1	1.1	1.3	2.8	2.5	6.1	11.0	.557	0.0	0.2	.143	3.7	5.3	.691
difference:	+10	+5.4	+11.8	+1.0	+0.8	+1.8	+2.7	+0.3	+0.7	-1.2	-1.1	+4.4	+9.1	+.037		+0.1	+.143	+3.0	+4.3	+.009
Karl Malone	82	39.0	27.7	3.4	8.6	12.0	2.4	1.4	0.6	4.0	3.6	10.5	20.1	.520	0.0	0.1	.000	6.7	9.6	.700
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	19	36.2	17.8	2.5	7.8	10.3	4.4	1.0	0.8	2.5	3.1	6.5	11.6	.564	0.0	0.1	.000	4.7	6.1	.783
difference:	+8	+8.7	+11.9	+0.5	+1.0	+1.5	+2.9	+0.2	+0.2	-1.0	-0.1	+4.7	+11.6	+.082				+2.7	+4.1	+.060
Karl Malone	11	44.9	29.7	3.0	8.8	11.8	1.5	1.2	0.6	3.5	3.2	11.2	23.2	.482	0.0	0.1	.000	7.4	10.2	.723

Season 4
	Bam Adebayo	Karl Malone
Season	2020-21	1988-89
Team	Miami Heat	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	64	33.5	18.7	2.2	6.7	9.0	5.4	1.2	1.0	2.6	2.3	7.1	12.5	.570	0.0	0.1	.250	4.4	5.5	.799
difference:	+16	+5.6	+10.4	+1.0	+0.7	+1.7	+2.7	+0.6	+0.1	-1.0	-1.3	+3.0	+7.0	+.051	+0.1	+0.1	+.063	+4.4	+6.0	+.033
Karl Malone	80	39.1	29.1	3.2	7.4	10.7	2.7	1.8	0.9	3.6	3.6	10.1	19.5	.519	0.1	0.2	.313	8.8	11.5	.766
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	4	34.0	15.5	3.5	5.8	9.3	4.3	1.3	0.5	2.8	2.8	6.5	14.3	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	3.3	.769
difference:	+1	+11.3	+15.2	+3.8	+3.2	+7.0	+3.0	+0.3	+0.2	-1.5	-2.5	+4.5	+7.7	+.044				+6.2	+7.4	+.044
Karl Malone	3	45.3	30.7	7.3	9.0	16.3	1.3	1.0	0.3	4.3	5.3	11.0	22.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	8.7	10.7	.813

Season 5
	Bam Adebayo	Karl Malone
Season	2021-22	1989-90
Team	Miami Heat	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf Finals	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	56	32.6	19.1	2.4	7.6	10.1	3.4	1.4	0.8	2.6	3.1	7.3	13.0	.557	0.0	0.1	.000	4.6	6.1	.753
difference:	+26	+5.5	+11.9	+0.4	+0.7	+1.0	+0.6	+0.1	+0.2	-1.1	-0.1	+3.8	+6.8	+.005	+0.2	+0.4	+.372	+3.9	+5.0	+.009
Karl Malone	82	38.1	31.0	2.8	8.3	11.1	2.8	1.5	0.6	3.7	3.2	11.1	19.8	.562	0.2	0.5	.372	8.5	11.1	.762
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	18	34.1	14.8	2.1	5.9	8.0	2.7	1.0	0.7	2.1	3.1	5.8	9.7	.594	0.0	0.1	.000	3.2	4.2	.763
difference:	+13	+6.5	+10.4	+1.1	+1.1	+2.2	+0.5	+1.2	+0.3	-0.3	-1.3	+3.4	+11.3	+.156		+0.1		+3.6	+4.8	+.007
Karl Malone	5	40.6	25.2	3.2	7.0	10.2	2.2	2.2	1.0	2.4	4.4	9.2	21.0	.438	0.0	0.2	.000	6.8	9.0	.756

Season 6
	Bam Adebayo	Karl Malone
Season	2022-23	1990-91
Team	Miami Heat	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	75	34.6	20.4	2.5	6.7	9.2	3.2	1.2	0.8	2.5	2.8	8.0	14.9	.540	0.0	0.2	.083	4.3	5.4	.806
difference:	+7	+5.7	+8.6	+0.4	+2.2	+2.6	+0.1	+0.1	+0.2	-0.5	-0.5	+2.3	+4.7	+.013			+.203	+4.0	+5.4	+.036
Karl Malone	82	40.3	29.0	2.9	8.9	11.8	3.3	1.1	1.0	3.0	3.3	10.3	19.6	.527	0.0	0.2	.286	8.3	10.8	.770
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	23	37.0	17.9	2.7	7.1	9.9	3.7	0.8	0.7	2.7	3.1	7.3	15.1	.481	0.0	0.1	.000	3.4	4.1	.821
difference:	+14	+5.6	+11.8	+0.1	+3.7	+3.4	+0.5	+0.2	+0.5	-0.2	-0.8	+3.3	+8.1	+.026		+0.8		+5.2	+6.0	+.025
Karl Malone	9	42.6	29.7	2.6	10.8	13.3	3.2	1.0	1.2	2.9	3.9	10.6	23.2	.455	0.0	0.9	.000	8.6	10.1	.846

Season 7
	Bam Adebayo	Karl Malone
Season	2023-24	1991-92
Team	Miami Heat	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	71	34.0	19.3	2.2	8.1	10.4	3.9	1.1	0.9	2.3	2.2	7.5	14.3	.521	0.2	0.6	.357	4.1	5.5	.755
difference:	+10	+3.7	+8.7	+0.6	+0.3	+0.8	+0.9	+0.2	+0.3	-0.8	-0.6	+2.4	+4.4	+.005	+0.2	+0.4	+.181	+4.2	+5.2	+.023
Karl Malone	81	37.7	28.0	2.8	8.4	11.2	3.0	1.3	0.6	3.1	2.8	9.9	18.7	.526	0.0	0.2	.176	8.3	10.7	.778
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	5	38.4	22.6	2.2	7.2	9.4	3.8	0.4	0.0	1.6	3.0	9.6	19.4	.495	0.4	2.0	.200	3.0	4.2	.714
difference:	+11	+4.6	+6.5	+0.5	+1.4	+1.9	+1.2	+1.0	+1.2	-1.3	-0.6	+0.3	+1.6	+.026	+0.4	+1.9	+.200	+7.6	+8.9	+.091
Karl Malone	16	43.0	29.1	2.7	8.6	11.3	2.6	1.4	1.2	2.9	3.6	9.3	17.8	.521	0.0	0.1	.000	10.6	13.1	.805

Season 8
	Bam Adebayo	Karl Malone
Season	2024-25	1992-93
Team	Miami Heat	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	78	34.3	18.1	2.4	7.2	9.6	4.3	1.3	0.7	2.1	2.1	6.9	14.3	.485	1.0	2.8	.357	3.2	4.2	.765
difference:	+4	+3.5	+8.9	+0.4	+1.2	+1.6	+0.5	+0.2	+0.3	-0.8	-1.1	+2.8	+3.3	+.067	+1.0	+2.6	+.157	+4.3	+6.0	+.025
Karl Malone	82	37.8	27.0	2.8	8.4	11.2	3.8	1.5	1.0	2.9	3.2	9.7	17.6	.552	0.0	0.2	.200	7.5	10.2	.740
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	4	38.3	17.5	4.0	7.0	11.0	4.3	1.0	0.3	3.0	2.3	7.0	16.0	.438	1.8	5.3	.333	1.8	2.8	.636
difference:	+1	+4.9	+6.5	+1.6	+1.0	+0.6	+2.3	+0.2	+0.1	-1.0	-1.9	+1.8	+3.4	+.016	+1.6	+4.9	+.167	+4.4	+4.8	+.180
Karl Malone	5	43.2	24.0	2.4	8.0	10.4	2.0	1.2	0.4	4.0	4.2	8.8	19.4	.454	0.2	0.4	.500	6.2	7.6	.816

Additional Years
* Karl Malone played 11 seasons more than Bam Adebayo in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 19, from 1994 to 2004—Karl Malone played in 11 Playoffs. In those 11 extra years over Bam Adebayo, Karl Malone got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Season MVP 6 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 8 All-Star Game