Karl Malone vs. Bill Walton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Walton 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.

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, 9 more than Bill Walton, who played 10. Karl Malone had the first of his seasons in 1985-86, while Bill Walton had his rookie season in 1974-75. 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
	Karl Malone	Bill Walton
Season	1985-86	1974-75
Team	Utah Jazz	Portland Trail Blazers
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:	+46	+2.3	+2.1	+0.5	+3.3	+3.7	+1.9	+0.5	+2.2		-0.3	+1.1	+2.6	+.017				+0.3	+1.1	+.205
Bill Walton	35	32.9	12.8	2.6	10.0	12.6	4.8	0.8	2.7	-	3.3	5.1	9.9	.513	-	-	-	2.7	3.9	.686
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 Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Karl Malone	Bill Walton
Season	1987-88	1976-77
Team	Utah Jazz	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-NBA Second Team	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	Blocks Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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:	+17	+4.2	+9.1	+0.2	+2.5	+2.4	+1.4	+0.4	+2.6		-0.9	+2.9	+5.8	+.008				+3.2	+4.6	+.003
Bill Walton	65	34.8	18.6	3.2	11.1	14.4	3.8	1.0	3.2	-	2.7	7.6	14.3	.528	-	-	-	3.5	5.0	.697
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:	+8	+5.2	+11.5	+0.1	+3.4	+3.4	+4.0	+0.1	+2.8		-1.0	+3.1	+7.3	+.025				+5.3	+7.2	+.039
Bill Walton	19	39.7	18.2	2.9	12.2	15.2	5.5	1.1	3.4	-	4.2	8.1	15.9	.507	-	-	-	2.1	3.0	.684

Season 4
	Karl Malone	Bill Walton
Season	1988-89	1977-78
Team	Utah Jazz	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+22	+5.8	+10.2	+1.2	+3.8	+2.5	+2.3	+0.8	+1.6		-1.1	+2.2	+4.3	+.003				+5.7	+7.3	+.046
Bill Walton	58	33.3	18.9	2.0	11.2	13.2	5.0	1.0	2.5	3.6	2.5	7.9	15.2	.522	-	-	-	3.1	4.2	.720
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:	+1	+20.8	+17.2	+4.8	+0.5	+5.3	+0.7	+0.5	+1.2	-1.3	-4.8	+5.5	+13.0	+.111				+6.2	+7.2	+.099
Bill Walton	2	24.5	13.5	2.5	8.5	11.0	2.0	1.5	1.5	3.0	0.5	5.5	9.0	.611	-	-	-	2.5	3.5	.714

Note: Bill Walton didn't play in 1978-79.

Season 5
	Karl Malone	Bill Walton
Season	1989-90	1979-80
Team	Utah Jazz	San Diego Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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:	+68	+14.0	+17.1	+0.8	+1.3	+2.1	+0.4	+0.9	+2.1	-1.1	-0.6	+5.3	+8.3	+.059	+0.2	+0.5		+6.2	+7.2	+.169
Bill Walton	14	24.1	13.9	2.0	7.0	9.0	2.4	0.6	2.7	2.6	2.6	5.8	11.5	.503	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	3.9	.593
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
Bill Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Bill Walton didn't play in 1980-81 and 1981-82.

Season 6
	Karl Malone	Bill Walton
Season	1990-91	1982-83
Team	Utah Jazz	San Diego Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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:	+49	+7.0	+14.9	+0.6	+1.4	+2.0	+0.3	+0.1	+2.6	-0.2	-0.1	+4.2	+8.1	+.001		+0.2		+6.3	+7.3	+.214
Bill Walton	33	33.3	14.1	2.3	7.5	9.8	3.6	1.0	3.6	3.2	3.4	6.1	11.5	.528	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.5	.556
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
Bill Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Karl Malone	Bill Walton
Season	1991-92	1983-84
Team	Utah Jazz	San Diego Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+26	+10.9	+15.9	+0.4	+2.1	+2.5	+0.3	+0.5	+1.0	-0.1		+4.7	+9.3	+.030		+0.2		+6.6	+7.9	+.181
Bill Walton	55	26.8	12.1	2.4	6.3	8.7	3.3	0.8	1.6	3.2	2.8	5.2	9.4	.556	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	2.8	.597
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
Bill Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Karl Malone	Bill Walton
Season	1992-93	1984-85
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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:	+15	+13.2	+16.9	+0.3	+2.0	+2.2	+1.5	+0.8	+1.1	-0.3	-0.5	+5.7	+9.9	+.031		+0.2		+5.4	+7.2	+.060
Bill Walton	67	24.6	10.1	2.5	6.4	9.0	2.3	0.7	2.1	2.6	2.7	4.0	7.7	.521	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.0	.680
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
Bill Walton	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Karl Malone	Bill Walton
Season	1993-94	1985-86
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Sixth Man of the Year
	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:	+2	+21.3	+17.6	+1.2	+3.5	+4.7	+1.9	+1.0	+0.2	-1.0	-0.7	+6.5	+13.8	+.065	+0.1	+0.4		+4.4	+6.5	+.019
Bill Walton	80	19.3	7.6	1.7	5.1	6.8	2.1	0.5	1.3	1.9	2.6	2.9	5.1	.562	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	2.5	.713
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:		+25.7	+19.2	+1.7	+4.2	+6.0	+1.7	+1.0		-0.7	-0.9	+6.5	+15.3	+.114		+0.2		+6.2	+8.6	+.088
Bill Walton	16	18.2	7.9	1.6	4.9	6.4	1.7	0.4	0.8	1.4	2.8	3.4	5.8	.581	0.0	0.1	.000	1.2	1.4	.826

Season 10
	Karl Malone	Bill Walton
Season	1994-95	1986-87
Team	Utah Jazz	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+72	+26.9	+23.9	+0.8	+6.7	+7.5	+2.6	+1.5		-1.4	-1.0	+9.1	+16.3	+.151	+0.1	+0.5		+5.5	+7.0	+.209
Bill Walton	10	11.2	2.8	1.1	2.0	3.1	0.9	0.1	1.0	1.5	2.3	1.0	2.6	.385	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.5	.533
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:	+7	+34.7	+27.8	+2.2	+8.4	+10.6	+3.0	+1.1	+0.1	-2.1	-1.7	+8.6	+18.5	+.014	+0.2	+0.6		+10.4	+14.4	+.335
Bill Walton	12	8.5	2.4	0.8	1.8	2.6	0.8	0.3	0.3	0.7	1.9	1.0	2.1	.480	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.2	.357

Additional Years
* Karl Malone played 9 seasons more than Bill Walton in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 19, from 1996 to 2004—Karl Malone played in 9 Playoffs. In those 9 extra years over Bill Walton, Karl Malone got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Season MVP 4 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 6 All-Star Game