Bernard King vs. Karl Malone: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Bernard King and Karl Malone all-time NBA rankings. Explore their historical standing across total and per-game stats, regular season and playoffs. Who ranks higher?

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Filter: Career Stats - Jazz

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Bernard King, with a career spanning 14 seasons from 1978 to 1993, and Karl Malone, with 19 seasons played from 1986 to 2004, stand among the league's historical elite..

Dive into a meticulous breakdown of their positions in every major statistical category—from scoring, rebounding and assists to steals, blocks, triple-doubles, and rankings by points thresholds—across both regular season and their entire playoff careers. Our comprehensive tables offer side-by-side rankings, value comparisons, and key differences, ensuring you have all the definitive data to assess their historical impact.

First, review a concise summary of how they rank in NBA history in the main categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) for both total and per-game stats, and below, you can then explore in detail all their stats and their historical rankings.

Bernard King vs. Karl Malone
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Bernard King Karl Malone Bernard King Karl Malone
Points
54th
3rd
+300th
8th
Rebounds
278th
7th
+300th
7th
Assists
265th
63rd
+300th
45th
Steals
265th
12th
+300th
17th
Blocks
+300th
74th
+300th
50th
Years1419519

Bernard King vs. Karl Malone
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Bernard King Karl Malone Bernard King Karl Malone
Points
36th
15th
34th
33rd
Rebounds
+300th
51st
+300th
38th
Assists
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Steals
+300th
107th
+300th
118th
Blocks
+300th
254th
+300th
299th

The 3-point shot was implemented in the 1979-80 season.
* Some years in Bernard King's career don't have data for these stats.

Comparisons on this page:

Their rankings for:
Season Totals - Playoffs Totals /
Season Per Game - Playoffs Per Game

Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played

Career Totals,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bernard King Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
54th
3rd
51 19,655 vs. 36,92817,273
Rebounds
278th
7th
271 5,060 vs. 14,9689,908
Assists
265th
63rd
202 2,863 vs. 5,2482,385
Steals
265th
12th
253 866 vs. 2,0851,219
Blocks
+300th
74th
+226 230 vs. 1,145915
Offensive Rebounds
168th
14th
154 1,704 vs. 3,5621,858
Defensive Rebounds
241st
2nd
239 3,356 vs. 11,4068,050
Field Goals Made
47th
3rd
44 7,830 vs. 13,5285,698
Field Goals Attempted
70th
3rd
67 15,109 vs. 26,21011,101
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
23 vs. 8562
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
134 vs. 310176
Free Throws Made
82nd
1st
81 3,972 vs. 9,7875,815
Free Throws Attempted
71st
1st
70 5,444 vs. 13,1887,744

Games and Years:

Bernard King Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
+300th
7th
+293 874 vs. 1,476602
Seasons
190th
12th
178 14 vs. 195

Triple-Doubles:

Bernard King Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
202nd
134th
68 2 vs. 42

Rankings by Points Scored:

Bernard King Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
26th
29th
3 45 vs. 441
50+ point games
14th
29th
15 8 vs. 44
60+ point games
11th
11th
0 1 vs. 10
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bernard King Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
+300th
8th
+292 687 vs. 4,7614,074
Rebounds
+300th
7th
+293 121 vs. 2,0621,941
Assists
+300th
45th
+255 65 vs. 610545
Steals
+300th
17th
+283 24 vs. 258234
Blocks
+300th
50th
+250 6 vs. 135129
Offensive Rebounds
+300th
10th
+290 45 vs. 502457
Defensive Rebounds
+300th
4th
+296 76 vs. 1,5601,484
Field Goals Made
+300th
7th
+293 269 vs. 1,7431,474
Field Goals Attempted
+300th
6th
+294 481 vs. 3,7683,287
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
1 vs. 65
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
4 vs. 3733
Free Throws Made
+300th
4th
+296 148 vs. 1,2691,121
Free Throws Attempted
+300th
5th
+295 203 vs. 1,7251,522

Games and Years:

Bernard King Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
+300th
12th
+288 28 vs. 193165
Playoffs
+300th
1st
+299 5 vs. 1914

Triple-Doubles:

Bernard King Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
+300th
0 vs. 00

Rankings by Points Scored:

Bernard King Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
20th
36th
16 7 vs. 43
50+ point games
-
9th
0 vs. 11
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bernard King Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
36th
15th
21 22.49 vs. 25.022.53
Rebounds per game
+300th
51st
+249 5.79 vs. 10.144.35
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
3.28 vs. 3.560.28
Steals per game
+300th
107th
+193 0.99 vs. 1.410.42
Blocks per game
+300th
254th
+46 0.26 vs. 0.780.51
Offensive Rebounds per game
232nd
111st
121 1.95 vs. 2.410.46
Defensive Rebounds per game
+300th
20th
+280 3.84 vs. 7.733.89
Field Goals Made per game
21st
16th
5 8.96 vs. 9.170.21
Field Goals Attempted per game
43rd
36th
7 17.29 vs. 17.760.47
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.03 vs. 0.060.03
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.19 vs. 0.210.02
Free Throws Made per game
81st
14th
67 4.54 vs. 6.632.09
Free Throws Attempted per game
63rd
6th
57 6.23 vs. 8.932.71

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bernard King Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
34th
33rd
1 24.54 vs. 24.670.13
Rebounds per game
+300th
38th
+262 4.32 vs. 10.686.36
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
2.32 vs. 3.160.84
Steals per game
+300th
118th
+182 0.86 vs. 1.340.48
Blocks per game
+300th
299th
+1 0.21 vs. 0.700.49
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
98th
+202 1.61 vs. 2.600.99
Defensive Rebounds per game
+300th
18th
+282 2.71 vs. 8.085.37
Field Goals Made per game
20th
33rd
13 9.61 vs. 9.030.58
Field Goals Attempted per game
75th
37th
38 17.18 vs. 19.522.34
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.04 vs. 0.030.01
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.15 vs. 0.190.04
Free Throws Made per game
67th
17th
50 5.29 vs. 6.581.29
Free Throws Attempted per game
44th
14th
30 7.25 vs. 8.941.69

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, 400 games for regular season stats unless the player reached these thresholds before: 10,000 points; 4,000 rebounds; 2,000 assists; 625 steals; 500 blocks; 250 3-pointers made. Also 3 minimum games for the Playoffs are applied.