Karl Malone vs. Domantas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Domantas Sabonis 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 / Stats / Stats Rankings

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, 10 more than Domantas Sabonis, who played 9. Karl Malone had the first of his seasons in 1985-86, while Domantas Sabonis had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
Domantas Sabonis	9	4	2016-17 to 2024-25

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


Rookie Season
	Karl Malone	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1985-86	2016-17
Team	Utah Jazz	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Thunder 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		%
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:		+10.5	+9.0	+1.5	+3.7	+5.3	+1.9	+0.8	+0.1	-2.4	-1.1	+3.8	+6.6	+.097	+0.6	+2.0		+1.9	+4.2	+.176
Domantas Sabonis	81	20.1	5.9	0.6	3.0	3.6	1.0	0.5	0.4	1.0	2.5	2.4	5.9	.399	0.6	2.0	.321	0.5	0.8	.657

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
difference:	+2	+33.0	+19.8	+1.5	+5.0	+6.5	+1.0	+1.5	+0.5	-1.5	-2.5	+9.5	+16.5	+.528		+0.5		+0.8	+4.5	+.577
Domantas Sabonis	2	3.0	2.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	2.0	0.0	1.5	.000	0.0	0.5	.000	2.0	2.0	1.000


Season 2
	Karl Malone	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1986-87	2017-18
Team	Utah Jazz	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+8	+10.3	+10.1	+1.2	+1.5	+2.7	+0.1	+0.8	+0.3	-1.0	-0.9	+4.3	+8.4	+.002	+0.2	+0.4	+.351	+1.6	+3.6	+.152
Domantas Sabonis	74	24.5	11.6	2.2	5.5	7.7	2.0	0.5	0.4	1.9	3.0	4.6	8.9	.514	0.2	0.5	.351	2.3	3.0	.750

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:	+2	+16.3	+7.6	+1.0	+4.0	+5.0	+0.5	+2.1	+0.5	-2.4	-0.9	+2.3	+8.7	+.161	+0.1	+1.0		+3.2	+4.6	+.056
Domantas Sabonis	7	23.7	12.4	2.0	2.6	4.6	0.7	0.1	0.3	1.0	3.1	5.1	8.9	.581	0.1	1.0	.143	2.0	2.6	.778


Season 3
	Karl Malone	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1987-88	2018-19
Team	Utah Jazz	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+8	+14.2	+13.6	+0.9	+1.8	+2.7	+0.5	+0.8	+0.2	-1.8	-0.4	+4.9	+10.6	+.070	+0.1	+0.1	+.529	+3.9	+5.7	+.015
Domantas Sabonis	74	24.8	14.1	2.5	6.8	9.3	2.9	0.6	0.4	2.2	3.2	5.6	9.5	.590	0.1	0.2	.529	2.8	3.9	.715

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:	+7	+20.9	+21.2	+1.2	+3.3	+4.5	+2.5	+0.4	+0.3	-2.2	-0.2	+8.2	+15.9	+.068	+0.3	+0.9	+.250	+5.1	+6.7	+.080
Domantas Sabonis	4	24.0	8.5	1.8	5.5	7.3	4.0	0.8	0.3	1.3	3.0	3.0	7.3	.414	0.3	1.0	.250	2.3	3.5	.643


Season 4
	Karl Malone	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1988-89	2019-20
Team	Utah Jazz	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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:	+18	+4.3	+10.6	+0.2	+2.0	+1.7	+2.3	+1.0	+0.4	-0.9	-0.5	+2.7	+5.8	+.021	+0.2	+0.9	+.059	+5.3	+6.7	+.043
Domantas Sabonis	62	34.8	18.5	3.0	9.4	12.4	5.0	0.8	0.5	2.7	3.1	7.4	13.7	.540	0.3	1.1	.254	3.5	4.8	.723

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
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Karl Malone	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1989-90	2020-21
Team	Utah Jazz	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	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:	+20	+2.1	+10.7	+0.4	+1.2	+0.9	+3.9	+0.3	+0.1	-0.3	-0.1	+3.3	+5.2	+.027	+0.6	+2.1	+.051	+4.6	+5.8	+.030
Domantas Sabonis	62	36.0	20.3	2.4	9.5	12.0	6.7	1.2	0.5	3.4	3.3	7.8	14.6	.535	0.8	2.6	.321	3.9	5.3	.732

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
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Karl Malone	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1990-91	2021-22
Team	Utah Jazz	Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	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:	+20	+5.8	+10.1	+0.3		+0.3	+1.9	+0.1	+0.6	-0.1		+3.2	+7.1	+.046	+0.6	+1.8	+.026	+4.3	+5.4	+.029
Domantas Sabonis	62	34.5	18.9	3.2	8.9	12.1	5.2	1.0	0.4	3.1	3.3	7.1	12.5	.573	0.6	2.0	.312	4.0	5.4	.741

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
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Karl Malone	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1991-92	2022-23
Team	Utah Jazz	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals	Kings Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+2	+3.1	+8.9	+0.4	+0.7	+1.1	+4.3	+0.5	+0.1	-0.2	-0.7	+2.6	+6.8	+.089	+0.4	+0.9	+.197	+4.2	+5.2	+.036
Domantas Sabonis	79	34.6	19.1	3.2	9.1	12.3	7.3	0.8	0.5	2.9	3.5	7.3	11.9	.615	0.4	1.1	.373	4.1	5.5	.742

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:	+9	+8.3	+12.7	+1.7	+2.0	+0.3	+2.1		+0.3	-0.8	-0.4	+2.3	+3.7	+.026	+0.1	+0.6	+.200	+8.3	+9.1	+.234
Domantas Sabonis	7	34.7	16.4	4.4	6.6	11.0	4.7	1.4	0.9	3.7	4.0	7.0	14.1	.495	0.1	0.7	.200	2.3	4.0	.571


Season 8
	Karl Malone	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1992-93	2023-24
Team	Utah Jazz	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	Rebounds Leader
	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:		+2.1	+7.6	+0.8	+1.7	+2.5	+4.4	+0.6	+0.4	-0.4	-0.2	+2.0	+4.6	+.042	+0.4	+0.9	+.179	+3.9	+5.1	+.036
Domantas Sabonis	82	35.7	19.4	3.6	10.1	13.7	8.2	0.9	0.6	3.3	3.0	7.7	13.0	.594	0.4	1.1	.379	3.6	5.1	.704

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
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Karl Malone	Domantas Sabonis
Season	1993-94	2024-25
Team	Utah Jazz	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+12	+5.9	+6.1	+0.9	+1.5	+2.4	+2.0	+0.8	+1.1			+1.9	+6.1	+.093	+0.8	+1.8	+.167	+3.1	+4.9	+.060
Domantas Sabonis	70	34.7	19.1	3.8	10.1	13.9	6.0	0.7	0.4	2.9	3.3	7.5	12.8	.590	0.9	2.2	.417	3.1	4.1	.754

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
Domantas Sabonis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Karl Malone played 10 seasons more than Domantas Sabonis in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 19, from 1995 to 2004—Karl Malone played in 10 Playoffs. In those 10 extra years over Domantas Sabonis, Karl Malone got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Season MVP 5 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 All-Defensive First Team 7 All-Star Game

Karl Malone vs. Domantas Sabonis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Domantas Sabonis 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

Additional Years