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?
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 | ||||
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 |
Years | 18 | 19 | 12 | 19 |
Dwight Howard vs. Karl Malone | ||||
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: |
Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Dwight Howard | Karl Malone | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points | 57th | 3rd | 54 | 19,485 vs. 36,928 | 17,443 |
Rebounds | 10th | 7th | 3 | 14,627 vs. 14,968 | 341 |
Assists | +300th | 63rd | +237 | 1,676 vs. 5,248 | 3,572 |
Steals | 146th | 12th | 134 | 1,081 vs. 2,085 | 1,004 |
Blocks | 13th | 74th | 61 | 2,228 vs. 1,145 | 1,083 |
Offensive Rebounds | 7th | 14th | 7 | 4,151 vs. 3,562 | 589 |
Defensive Rebounds | 4th | 2nd | 2 | 10,476 vs. 11,406 | 930 |
Field Goals Made | 78th | 3rd | 75 | 7,051 vs. 13,528 | 6,477 |
Field Goals Attempted | 162nd | 3rd | 159 | 12,016 vs. 26,210 | 14,194 |
3-Pointers Made | +300th | +300th | 22 vs. 85 | 63 | |
3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | +300th | 103 vs. 310 | 207 | |
Free Throws Made | 33rd | 1st | 32 | 5,361 vs. 9,787 | 4,426 |
Free Throws Attempted | 8th | 1st | 7 | 9,455 vs. 13,188 | 3,733 |
Games and Years: | Dwight Howard | Karl Malone | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Games Played | 37th | 7th | 30 | 1,242 vs. 1,476 | 234 |
Seasons | 27th | 12th | 15 | 18 vs. 19 | 1 |
Triple-Doubles: | Dwight Howard | Karl Malone | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Triple-Doubles | 275th | 134th | 141 | 1 vs. 4 | 3 |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Dwight Howard | Karl Malone | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
40+ point games | 184th | 29th | 155 | 4 vs. 44 | 40 |
50+ point games | - | 29th | 0 vs. 4 | 4 | |
60+ point games | - | 11th | 0 vs. 1 | 1 | |
70+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 |
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Dwight Howard | Karl Malone | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points | 78th | 8th | 70 | 1,909 vs. 4,761 | 2,852 |
Rebounds | 19th | 7th | 12 | 1,473 vs. 2,062 | 589 |
Assists | +300th | 45th | +255 | 149 vs. 610 | 461 |
Steals | 129th | 17th | 112 | 94 vs. 258 | 164 |
Blocks | 13th | 50th | 37 | 248 vs. 135 | 113 |
Offensive Rebounds | 16th | 10th | 6 | 441 vs. 502 | 61 |
Defensive Rebounds | 19th | 4th | 15 | 1,032 vs. 1,560 | 528 |
Field Goals Made | 87th | 7th | 80 | 681 vs. 1,743 | 1,062 |
Field Goals Attempted | 148th | 6th | 142 | 1,156 vs. 3,768 | 2,612 |
3-Pointers Made | +300th | +300th | 1 vs. 6 | 5 | |
3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | +300th | 7 vs. 37 | 30 | |
Free Throws Made | 50th | 4th | 46 | 546 vs. 1,269 | 723 |
Free Throws Attempted | 24th | 5th | 19 | 997 vs. 1,725 | 728 |
Games and Years: | Dwight Howard | Karl Malone | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Games Played | 95th | 12th | 83 | 125 vs. 193 | 68 |
Playoffs | 76th | 1st | 75 | 12 vs. 19 | 7 |
Triple-Doubles: | Dwight Howard | Karl Malone | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Triple-Doubles | +300th | +300th | 0 vs. 0 | 0 | |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Dwight Howard | Karl Malone | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
40+ point games | 55th | 36th | 19 | 2 vs. 4 | 2 |
50+ point games | - | 9th | 0 vs. 1 | 1 | |
60+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Dwight Howard | Karl Malone | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points per game | 244th | 15th | 229 | 15.69 vs. 25.02 | 9.33 |
Rebounds per game | 20th | 51st | 31 | 11.78 vs. 10.14 | 1.64 |
Assists per game | +300th | +300th | 1.35 vs. 3.56 | 2.21 | |
Steals per game | +300th | 107th | +193 | 0.87 vs. 1.41 | 0.54 |
Blocks per game | 37th | 254th | 217 | 1.79 vs. 0.78 | 1.02 |
Offensive Rebounds per game | 13th | 111st | 98 | 3.34 vs. 2.41 | 0.93 |
Defensive Rebounds per game | 3rd | 20th | 17 | 8.43 vs. 7.73 | 0.71 |
Field Goals Made per game | 286th | 16th | 270 | 5.68 vs. 9.17 | 3.49 |
Field Goals Attempted per game | +300th | 36th | +264 | 9.67 vs. 17.76 | 8.08 |
3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | +300th | 0.02 vs. 0.06 | 0.04 | |
3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | +300th | 0.08 vs. 0.21 | 0.13 | |
Free Throws Made per game | 97th | 14th | 83 | 4.32 vs. 6.63 | 2.31 |
Free Throws Attempted per game | 26th | 6th | 20 | 7.61 vs. 8.93 | 1.32 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Dwight Howard | Karl Malone | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points per game | 235th | 33rd | 202 | 15.27 vs. 24.67 | 9.40 |
Rebounds per game | 21st | 38th | 17 | 11.78 vs. 10.68 | 1.10 |
Assists per game | +300th | +300th | 1.19 vs. 3.16 | 1.97 | |
Steals per game | +300th | 118th | +182 | 0.75 vs. 1.34 | 0.58 |
Blocks per game | 21st | 299th | 278 | 1.98 vs. 0.70 | 1.28 |
Offensive Rebounds per game | 19th | 98th | 79 | 3.53 vs. 2.60 | 0.93 |
Defensive Rebounds per game | 17th | 18th | 1 | 8.26 vs. 8.08 | 0.17 |
Field Goals Made per game | 268th | 33rd | 235 | 5.45 vs. 9.03 | 3.58 |
Field Goals Attempted per game | +300th | 37th | +263 | 9.25 vs. 19.52 | 10.28 |
3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | +300th | 0.01 vs. 0.03 | 0.02 | |
3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | +300th | 0.06 vs. 0.19 | 0.14 | |
Free Throws Made per game | 125th | 17th | 108 | 4.37 vs. 6.58 | 2.21 |
Free Throws Attempted per game | 29th | 14th | 15 | 7.98 vs. 8.94 | 0.96 |
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.