Dwight Howard vs. Karl Malone: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Dwight Howard 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
Filter: Career Stats - Lakers

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Dwight Howard, with a career spanning 18 seasons from 2005 to 2022, 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.

Dwight Howard vs. Karl Malone
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Dwight Howard Karl Malone Dwight Howard Karl Malone
Points
57th
3rd
78th
8th
Rebounds
10th
7th
19th
7th
Assists
+300th
63rd
+300th
45th
Steals
146th
12th
129th
17th
Blocks
13th
74th
13th
50th
Years18191219

Dwight Howard vs. Karl Malone
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Dwight Howard Karl Malone Dwight Howard Karl Malone
Points
244th
15th
235th
33rd
Rebounds
20th
51st
21st
38th
Assists
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Steals
+300th
107th
+300th
118th
Blocks
37th
254th
21st
299th

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:

Dwight Howard Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
57th
3rd
54 19,485 vs. 36,92817,443
Rebounds
10th
7th
3 14,627 vs. 14,968341
Assists
+300th
63rd
+237 1,676 vs. 5,2483,572
Steals
146th
12th
134 1,081 vs. 2,0851,004
Blocks
13th
74th
61 2,228 vs. 1,1451,083
Offensive Rebounds
7th
14th
7 4,151 vs. 3,562589
Defensive Rebounds
4th
2nd
2 10,476 vs. 11,406930
Field Goals Made
78th
3rd
75 7,051 vs. 13,5286,477
Field Goals Attempted
162nd
3rd
159 12,016 vs. 26,21014,194
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
22 vs. 8563
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
103 vs. 310207
Free Throws Made
33rd
1st
32 5,361 vs. 9,7874,426
Free Throws Attempted
8th
1st
7 9,455 vs. 13,1883,733

Games and Years:

Dwight Howard Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
37th
7th
30 1,242 vs. 1,476234
Seasons
27th
12th
15 18 vs. 191

Triple-Doubles:

Dwight Howard Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
275th
134th
141 1 vs. 43

Rankings by Points Scored:

Dwight Howard Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
184th
29th
155 4 vs. 4440
50+ point games
-
29th
0 vs. 44
60+ point games
-
11th
0 vs. 11
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Dwight Howard Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
78th
8th
70 1,909 vs. 4,7612,852
Rebounds
19th
7th
12 1,473 vs. 2,062589
Assists
+300th
45th
+255 149 vs. 610461
Steals
129th
17th
112 94 vs. 258164
Blocks
13th
50th
37 248 vs. 135113
Offensive Rebounds
16th
10th
6 441 vs. 50261
Defensive Rebounds
19th
4th
15 1,032 vs. 1,560528
Field Goals Made
87th
7th
80 681 vs. 1,7431,062
Field Goals Attempted
148th
6th
142 1,156 vs. 3,7682,612
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
1 vs. 65
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
7 vs. 3730
Free Throws Made
50th
4th
46 546 vs. 1,269723
Free Throws Attempted
24th
5th
19 997 vs. 1,725728

Games and Years:

Dwight Howard Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
95th
12th
83 125 vs. 19368
Playoffs
76th
1st
75 12 vs. 197

Triple-Doubles:

Dwight Howard Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
+300th
0 vs. 00

Rankings by Points Scored:

Dwight Howard Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
55th
36th
19 2 vs. 42
50+ point games
-
9th
0 vs. 11
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Dwight Howard Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
244th
15th
229 15.69 vs. 25.029.33
Rebounds per game
20th
51st
31 11.78 vs. 10.141.64
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
1.35 vs. 3.562.21
Steals per game
+300th
107th
+193 0.87 vs. 1.410.54
Blocks per game
37th
254th
217 1.79 vs. 0.781.02
Offensive Rebounds per game
13th
111st
98 3.34 vs. 2.410.93
Defensive Rebounds per game
3rd
20th
17 8.43 vs. 7.730.71
Field Goals Made per game
286th
16th
270 5.68 vs. 9.173.49
Field Goals Attempted per game
+300th
36th
+264 9.67 vs. 17.768.08
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 0.060.04
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.08 vs. 0.210.13
Free Throws Made per game
97th
14th
83 4.32 vs. 6.632.31
Free Throws Attempted per game
26th
6th
20 7.61 vs. 8.931.32

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Dwight Howard Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
235th
33rd
202 15.27 vs. 24.679.40
Rebounds per game
21st
38th
17 11.78 vs. 10.681.10
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
1.19 vs. 3.161.97
Steals per game
+300th
118th
+182 0.75 vs. 1.340.58
Blocks per game
21st
299th
278 1.98 vs. 0.701.28
Offensive Rebounds per game
19th
98th
79 3.53 vs. 2.600.93
Defensive Rebounds per game
17th
18th
1 8.26 vs. 8.080.17
Field Goals Made per game
268th
33rd
235 5.45 vs. 9.033.58
Field Goals Attempted per game
+300th
37th
+263 9.25 vs. 19.5210.28
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.01 vs. 0.030.02
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.06 vs. 0.190.14
Free Throws Made per game
125th
17th
108 4.37 vs. 6.582.21
Free Throws Attempted per game
29th
14th
15 7.98 vs. 8.940.96

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.