Karl Malone vs. Bill Sharman Season by Season Comparison

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

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

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.

Karl Malone played 19 years in the NBA, 8 more than Bill Sharman, who played 11. Karl Malone had the first of his seasons in 1985-86, while Bill Sharman had his rookie season in 1950-51. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Karl Malone	19	19	1985-86 to 2003-04
Bill Sharman	11	10	1950-51 to 1960-61

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11


Rookie Season
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1985-86	1950-51
Team	Utah Jazz	Washington Capitols
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
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
difference:	+50		+2.7			+5.4	+1.6				-0.8	+1.7	+0.2	+.126				+0.7	+1.5	+.408
Bill Sharman	31	-	12.2	-	-	3.5	1.3	-	-	-	2.8	4.5	12.3	.370	-	-	-	3.1	3.5	.889

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Bill Sharman	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1986-87	1951-52
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Div Semis

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	82	34.8	21.7	3.4	7.0	10.4	1.9	1.3	0.7	2.9	3.9	8.9	17.3	.512	0.0	0.1	.000	3.9	6.6	.598
difference:	+19	+12.8	+11.0			+6.9	+0.5				-1.0	+5.0	+7.3	+.123				+1.0	+3.2	+.261
Bill Sharman	63	22.0	10.7	-	-	3.5	2.4	-	-	-	2.9	3.9	10.0	.389	-	-	-	2.9	3.4	.859

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	5	40.0	20.0	3.0	6.6	9.6	1.2	2.2	0.8	3.4	4.0	7.4	17.6	.420	0.0	0.0	-	5.2	7.2	.722
difference:	+4	+13.0	+5.0			+6.6	+5.8					+0.4	+5.6	+.163				+4.2	+6.2	+.278
Bill Sharman	1	27.0	15.0	-	-	3.0	7.0	-	-	-	4.0	7.0	12.0	.583	-	-	-	1.0	1.0	1.000


Season 3
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1987-88	1952-53
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+11	+6.1	+11.5			+7.9	+0.3				-0.2	+4.8	+7.1	+.084				+1.9	+4.0	+.150
Bill Sharman	71	32.9	16.2	-	-	4.1	2.7	-	-	-	3.4	5.7	13.0	.436	-	-	-	4.8	5.6	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+5	+11.4	+18.0			+9.3	+1.0				-1.1	+7.9	+13.2	+.149				+2.4	+4.9	+.215
Bill Sharman	6	33.5	11.7	-	-	2.5	2.5	-	-	-	4.3	3.3	10.0	.333	-	-	-	5.0	5.3	.938


Season 4
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1988-89	1953-54
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+8	+4.8	+13.1			+7.2	+0.5				-0.7	+4.4	+6.8	+.069				+4.2	+6.1	+.078
Bill Sharman	72	34.3	16.0	-	-	3.5	3.2	-	-	-	2.9	5.7	12.7	.450	-	-	-	4.6	5.4	.844

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+3	+11.0	+11.9			+12.1	+0.4				-0.5	+5.2	+8.5	+.068				+1.5	+2.4	+.047
Bill Sharman	6	34.3	18.8	-	-	4.2	1.7	-	-	-	4.8	5.8	13.5	.432	-	-	-	7.2	8.3	.860


Season 5
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1989-90	1954-55
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Div Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+14	+2.0	+12.6			+6.7	+1.3				-0.1	+4.4	+4.2	+.135				+3.4	+5.4	+.135
Bill Sharman	68	36.1	18.4	-	-	4.4	4.1	-	-	-	3.1	6.7	15.6	.427	-	-	-	5.1	5.7	.897

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+2	+0.8	+4.5			+4.8	+3.2				-1.0	+1.3	+5.3	+.062				+1.8	+3.6	+.165
Bill Sharman	7	41.4	20.7	-	-	5.4	5.4	-	-	-	3.4	7.9	15.7	.500	-	-	-	5.0	5.4	.921


Season 6
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1990-91	1955-56
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Div 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		%
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
difference:	+10	+2.8	+9.1			+8.2	+1.4				-0.6	+2.8	+2.5	+.089				+3.3	+5.1	+.097
Bill Sharman	72	37.5	19.9	-	-	3.6	4.7	-	-	-	2.7	7.5	17.1	.438	-	-	-	5.0	5.7	.867

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+6	+2.9	+12.4			+11.0	+0.8				-1.6	+4.6	+7.9	+.064				+3.3	+4.4	+.095
Bill Sharman	3	39.7	17.3	-	-	2.3	4.0	-	-	-	2.3	6.0	15.3	.391	-	-	-	5.3	5.7	.941


Season 7
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1991-92	1956-57
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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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		%
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
difference:	+14	+1.8	+6.9			+6.9	+0.5					+2.2	+0.2	+.110				+2.6	+4.4	+.127
Bill Sharman	67	35.9	21.1	-	-	4.3	3.5	-	-	-	2.8	7.7	18.5	.416	-	-	-	5.7	6.3	.905

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+6	+5.3	+8.0			+7.8	+0.3				-1.3	+1.8	+1.9	+.140				+4.5	+6.7	+.148
Bill Sharman	10	37.7	21.1	-	-	3.5	2.9	-	-	-	2.3	7.5	19.7	.381	-	-	-	6.1	6.4	.953


Season 8
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1992-93	1957-58
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
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
difference:	+19	+2.7	+4.7			+6.5	+1.1				-0.7	+1.0	+3.0	+.128				+2.7	+4.8	+.153
Bill Sharman	63	35.1	22.3	-	-	4.7	2.7	-	-	-	2.5	8.7	20.6	.424	-	-	-	4.8	5.4	.893

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+6	+6.3	+2.9			+5.5	+0.3				-1.7	+0.6	+0.7	+.047				+1.5	+2.5	+.113
Bill Sharman	11	36.9	21.1	-	-	4.9	2.3	-	-	-	2.5	8.2	20.1	.407	-	-	-	4.7	5.1	.929


Season 9
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1993-94	1958-59
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	82	40.6	25.2	2.9	8.6	11.5	4.0	1.5	1.5	2.9	3.3	9.4	18.9	.497	0.1	0.4	.250	6.2	9.0	.694
difference:	+10	+7.5	+4.8			+7.4	+1.5				-0.9	+1.6	+0.2	+.089				+1.4	+3.9	+.238
Bill Sharman	72	33.1	20.4	-	-	4.1	2.5	-	-	-	2.4	7.8	19.1	.408	-	-	-	4.8	5.1	.932

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	16	43.9	27.1	3.3	9.1	12.4	3.4	1.4	0.8	2.1	3.7	9.9	21.1	.467	0.0	0.3	.000	7.4	10.0	.738
difference:	+5	+14.6	+7.0			+9.1	+0.9				-0.5	+2.4	+3.6	+.042				+2.2	+4.6	+.228
Bill Sharman	11	29.3	20.1	-	-	3.3	2.5	-	-	-	3.2	7.5	17.5	.425	-	-	-	5.2	5.4	.966


Season 10
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1994-95	1959-60
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	82	38.1	26.7	1.9	8.7	10.6	3.5	1.6	1.0	2.9	3.3	10.1	18.9	.536	0.1	0.5	.268	6.3	8.5	.742
difference:	+11	+11.1	+7.4			+6.9	+1.5				-1.1	+2.2	+1.6	+.080				+2.8	+4.4	+.124
Bill Sharman	71	27.0	19.3	-	-	3.7	2.0	-	-	-	2.2	7.9	17.3	.456	-	-	-	3.5	4.1	.866

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	5	43.2	30.2	3.0	10.2	13.2	3.8	1.4	0.4	2.8	3.6	9.6	20.6	.466	0.2	0.6	.333	10.8	15.6	.692
difference:	+8	+15.2	+13.4			+9.7	+2.3				-1.9	+2.8	+4.5	+.045				+7.5	+11.5	+.119
Bill Sharman	13	28.0	16.8	-	-	3.5	1.5	-	-	-	1.7	6.8	16.1	.421	-	-	-	3.3	4.1	.811


Season 11
	Karl Malone	Bill Sharman
Season	1995-96	1960-61
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	82	38.0	25.7	2.1	7.7	9.8	4.2	1.7	0.7	2.4	3.0	9.6	18.5	.519	0.2	0.5	.400	6.2	8.6	.723
difference:	+21	+12.8	+9.7			+6.1	+1.8				-0.9	+3.3	+3.6	+.097				+2.8	+4.9	+.198
Bill Sharman	61	25.2	16.0	-	-	3.7	2.4	-	-	-	2.1	6.3	14.9	.422	-	-	-	3.4	3.7	.921

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	18	40.3	26.5	2.6	7.7	10.3	4.4	1.9	0.6	2.5	3.4	10.4	22.3	.469	0.0	0.2	.000	5.6	9.8	.574
difference:	+8	+14.2	+9.7			+7.6	+2.7				-1.2	+3.6	+9.0	+.042				+2.4	+6.2	+.315
Bill Sharman	10	26.1	16.8	-	-	2.7	1.7	-	-	-	2.2	6.8	13.3	.511	-	-	-	3.2	3.6	.889


Additional Years
* Karl Malone played 8 seasons more than Bill Sharman in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 19, from 1997 to 2004—Karl Malone played in 8 Playoffs. In those 8 extra years over Bill Sharman, Karl Malone got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Season MVP 3 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 5 All-Star Game

Karl Malone vs. Bill Sharman Season by Season Comparison

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

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years