Karl Malone vs. Klay Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Klay Thompson 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, 7 more than Klay Thompson, who played 12. Karl Malone had the first of his seasons in 1985-86, while Klay Thompson had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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	Klay Thompson
Season	1985-86	2011-12
Team	Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	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:	+15	+6.2	+2.4	+1.7	+4.6	+6.5	+0.9	+0.6	+0.2	-1.8	-1.3	+1.4	+1.6	+.053	+1.7	+4.1		+1.2	+3.6	+.387
Klay Thompson	66	24.4	12.5	0.4	2.1	2.4	2.0	0.7	0.3	1.6	2.3	4.8	10.9	.443	1.7	4.1	.414	1.2	1.4	.868
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
Klay Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Karl Malone	Klay Thompson
Season	1987-88	2013-14
Team	Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	Warriors Lost West 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:	+1	+3.6	+9.3	+2.9	+6.0	+8.9	+0.2	+0.5	+0.1	-2.3	-0.7	+3.6	+4.6	+.076	+2.8	+6.5	+.417	+4.9	+7.3	+.095
Klay Thompson	81	35.4	18.4	0.5	2.6	3.1	2.2	0.9	0.5	1.7	2.9	6.9	15.5	.444	2.8	6.6	.417	1.8	2.3	.795
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:	+4	+8.2	+13.3	+2.4	+5.9	+8.4	+2.1	+0.2	+0.1	-1.4	-0.2	+5.5	+9.2	+.074	+2.3	+6.2	+.364	+4.7	+6.8	+.069
Klay Thompson	7	36.7	16.4	0.6	2.9	3.4	3.6	1.0	0.7	2.1	3.4	5.7	14.0	.408	2.3	6.3	.364	2.7	3.4	.792

Season 4
	Karl Malone	Klay Thompson
Season	1988-89	2014-15
Team	Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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:	+3	+7.2	+7.4	+2.8	+4.5	+7.5	+0.2	+0.7	+0.1	-1.7	-2.0	+2.3	+2.6	+.056	+3.0	+6.9	+.126	+5.9	+8.2	+.113
Klay Thompson	77	31.9	21.7	0.4	2.9	3.2	2.9	1.1	0.8	1.9	1.6	7.8	16.9	.463	3.1	7.1	.439	2.9	3.3	.879
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:	+18	+9.1	+12.1	+6.9	+5.6	+12.4	+1.3	+0.2	+0.6	-2.3	-2.3	+3.9	+6.1	+.054	+2.7	+7.0		+7.0	+8.6	+.013
Klay Thompson	21	36.2	18.6	0.4	3.4	3.9	2.6	0.8	0.9	2.0	3.0	7.1	15.9	.446	2.7	7.0	.390	1.7	2.1	.800

Season 5
	Karl Malone	Klay Thompson
Season	1989-90	2015-16
Team	Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Warriors Lost NBA 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:	+2	+4.8	+8.9	+2.4	+4.9	+7.3	+0.7	+0.7		-2.0	-1.3	+3.0	+2.5	+.092	+3.3	+7.6	+.053	+6.1	+8.3	+.111
Klay Thompson	80	33.3	22.1	0.4	3.4	3.8	2.1	0.8	0.6	1.7	1.9	8.1	17.3	.470	3.5	8.1	.425	2.4	2.8	.873
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:	+19	+5.2	+0.9	+2.6	+4.0	+6.5	+0.1	+1.1	+0.6	-0.4	-2.2	+0.8	+2.1	+.006	+4.1	+9.4	+.424	+3.4	+5.0	+.098
Klay Thompson	24	35.4	24.3	0.6	3.0	3.7	2.3	1.1	0.4	2.0	2.2	8.4	18.9	.444	4.1	9.6	.424	3.4	4.0	.854

Season 6
	Karl Malone	Klay Thompson
Season	1990-91	2016-17
Team	Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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:	+4	+6.3	+6.7	+2.3	+5.9	+8.1	+1.2	+0.3	+0.5	-1.4	-1.5	+2.0	+2.0	+.059	+3.4	+8.1	+.128	+5.9	+8.0	+.083
Klay Thompson	78	34.0	22.3	0.6	3.0	3.7	2.1	0.8	0.5	1.6	1.8	8.3	17.6	.468	3.4	8.3	.414	2.4	2.8	.853
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:	+8	+7.5	+14.7	+2.0	+7.6	+9.4	+1.1	+0.2	+0.9	-1.5	-1.3	+5.1	+9.3	+.058	+2.4	+5.3	+.387	+7.1	+8.2	+.058
Klay Thompson	17	35.1	15.0	0.6	3.2	3.9	2.1	0.8	0.3	1.4	2.6	5.5	13.9	.397	2.4	6.2	.387	1.5	1.9	.788

Season 7
	Karl Malone	Klay Thompson
Season	1991-92	2017-18
Team	Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	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:	+8	+3.4	+8.0	+2.4	+5.0	+7.4	+0.5	+0.5	+0.1	-1.3	-1.2	+2.0	+2.5	+.038	+3.1	+6.9	+.264	+7.2	+9.4	+.059
Klay Thompson	73	34.3	20.0	0.4	3.4	3.8	2.5	0.8	0.5	1.8	1.6	7.9	16.2	.488	3.1	7.1	.440	1.1	1.3	.837
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:	+5	+5.2	+9.5	+2.2	+5.0	+7.2	+0.8	+0.6	+0.9	-1.4	-1.3	+1.7	+1.5	+.056	+3.2	+7.4	+.427	+9.3	+11.6	+.066
Klay Thompson	21	37.8	19.6	0.5	3.6	4.1	1.8	0.8	0.3	1.5	2.3	7.6	16.3	.465	3.2	7.5	.427	1.3	1.5	.871

Season 8
	Karl Malone	Klay Thompson
Season	1992-93	2018-19
Team	Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Warriors 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:	+4	+3.8	+5.5	+2.3	+5.0	+7.4	+1.4	+0.4	+0.4	-1.4	-1.2	+1.3	+0.4	+.085	+3.1	+7.5	+.202	+5.8	+8.2	+.076
Klay Thompson	78	34.0	21.5	0.5	3.4	3.8	2.4	1.1	0.6	1.5	2.0	8.4	18.0	.467	3.1	7.7	.402	1.7	2.0	.816
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:	+16	+4.2	+3.3	+1.8	+4.5	+6.3	+0.1	+0.1	+0.3	-2.2	-1.4	+1.0	+2.3	+.002	+3.1	+7.1	+.057	+4.4	+5.6	+.086
Klay Thompson	21	39.0	20.7	0.6	3.5	4.1	2.1	1.3	0.7	1.8	2.8	7.8	17.1	.456	3.3	7.5	.443	1.8	2.0	.902

Note: Klay Thompson didn't play in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Season 9
	Karl Malone	Klay Thompson
Season	1993-94	2021-22
Team	Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	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:	+50	+11.2	+4.8	+2.4	+5.2	+7.6	+1.2	+1.0	+1.0	-1.6	-1.6	+1.7	+1.0	+.068	+3.5	+8.9	+.135	+4.8	+7.4	+.208
Klay Thompson	32	29.4	20.4	0.5	3.4	3.9	2.8	0.5	0.5	1.3	1.7	7.7	17.9	.429	3.6	9.3	.385	1.4	1.6	.902
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:	+6	+7.9	+8.1	+3.0	+5.5	+8.5	+1.1	+0.3	+0.1	-0.8	-1.6	+2.7	+4.4	+.038	+3.5	+8.8	+.385	+6.2	+8.6	+.129
Klay Thompson	22	36.0	19.0	0.3	3.6	3.9	2.3	1.1	0.7	1.3	2.1	7.2	16.7	.429	3.5	9.1	.385	1.2	1.4	.867

Season 10
	Karl Malone	Klay Thompson
Season	1994-95	2022-23
Team	Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Warriors Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+13	+5.1	+4.8	+1.3	+5.1	+6.5	+1.1	+0.9	+0.6	-1.1	-1.4	+2.2	+0.8	+.100	+4.3	+10.1	+.144	+4.6	+6.6	+.137
Klay Thompson	69	33.0	21.9	0.6	3.6	4.1	2.4	0.7	0.4	1.8	1.9	7.9	18.1	.436	4.4	10.6	.412	1.7	1.9	.879
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	+7.2	+11.7	+2.9	+6.1	+9.0	+1.6	+0.9	+0.1	-0.8	-1.4	+3.1	+3.8	+.078	+3.6	+9.9	+.035	+9.2	+13.8	+.183
Klay Thompson	13	36.0	18.5	0.1	4.1	4.2	2.2	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.2	6.5	16.8	.388	3.8	10.5	.368	1.6	1.8	.875

Season 11
	Karl Malone	Klay Thompson
Season	1995-96	2023-24
Team	Utah Jazz	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+5	+8.3	+7.8	+1.6	+4.9	+6.5	+1.9	+1.1	+0.2	-0.9	-1.4	+3.2	+3.8	+.087	+3.3	+8.5	+.013	+4.6	+6.8	+.204
Klay Thompson	77	29.7	17.9	0.5	2.8	3.3	2.3	0.6	0.5	1.5	1.6	6.4	14.7	.432	3.5	9.0	.387	1.6	1.8	.927
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
Klay Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Karl Malone	Klay Thompson
Season	1996-97	2024-25
Team	Utah Jazz	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Jazz Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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12th 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	36.6	27.4	2.4	7.5	9.9	4.5	1.4	0.6	2.8	2.6	10.5	19.2	.550	0.0	0.2	.000	6.4	8.4	.755
difference:	+10	+9.3	+13.4	+1.8	+4.7	+6.5	+2.5	+0.7	+0.2	-1.6	-1.5	+5.5	+7.0	+.138	+3.0	+7.5	+.391	+5.5	+7.4	+.150
Klay Thompson	72	27.3	14.0	0.6	2.8	3.4	2.0	0.7	0.4	1.2	1.1	5.0	12.2	.412	3.0	7.7	.391	0.9	1.0	.905
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Karl Malone	20	40.8	26.0	3.0	8.4	11.4	2.9	1.4	0.8	2.7	3.0	9.4	21.5	.435	0.1	0.1	.500	7.2	10.0	.720
Klay Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Karl Malone played 7 seasons more than Klay Thompson in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 19, from 1998 to 2004—Karl Malone played in 7 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over Klay Thompson, Karl Malone got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Season MVP 2 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Star Game