Joel Embiid vs. Karl Malone: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Joel Embiid 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

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Joel Embiid, with a career spanning 9 seasons from 2017 to 2025, 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.

Joel Embiid vs. Karl Malone
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Joel Embiid Karl Malone Joel Embiid Karl Malone
Points
258th
3rd
136th
8th
Rebounds
285th
7th
131st
7th
Assists
+300th
63rd
293rd
45th
Steals
+300th
12th
+300th
17th
Blocks
177th
74th
77th
50th
Years919719

Joel Embiid vs. Karl Malone
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Joel Embiid Karl Malone Joel Embiid Karl Malone
Points
4th
15th
31st
33rd
Rebounds
29th
51st
34th
38th
Assists
290th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Steals
+300th
107th
+300th
118th
Blocks
52nd
254th
36th
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:

Joel Embiid Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
258th
3rd
255 12,523 vs. 36,92824,405
Rebounds
285th
7th
278 4,987 vs. 14,9689,981
Assists
+300th
63rd
+237 1,658 vs. 5,2483,590
Steals
+300th
12th
+288 411 vs. 2,0851,674
Blocks
177th
74th
103 738 vs. 1,145407
Offensive Rebounds
+300th
14th
+286 1,008 vs. 3,5622,554
Defensive Rebounds
171st
2nd
169 3,979 vs. 11,4067,427
Field Goals Made
+300th
3rd
+297 4,117 vs. 13,5289,411
Field Goals Attempted
+300th
3rd
+297 8,212 vs. 26,21017,998
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
532 vs. 85447
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
1,568 vs. 3101,258
Free Throws Made
94th
1st
93 3,757 vs. 9,7876,030
Free Throws Attempted
111st
1st
110 4,538 vs. 13,1888,650

Games and Years:

Joel Embiid Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
+300th
7th
+293 452 vs. 1,4761,024
Seasons
+300th
12th
+288 9 vs. 1910

Triple-Doubles:

Joel Embiid Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
75th
134th
59 8 vs. 44

Rankings by Points Scored:

Joel Embiid Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
22nd
29th
7 48 vs. 444
50+ point games
14th
29th
15 8 vs. 44
60+ point games
11th
11th
0 1 vs. 10
70+ point games
2nd
-
1 vs. 01

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Joel Embiid Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
136th
8th
128 1,469 vs. 4,7613,292
Rebounds
131st
7th
124 641 vs. 2,0621,421
Assists
293rd
45th
248 182 vs. 610428
Steals
+300th
17th
+283 49 vs. 258209
Blocks
77th
50th
27 102 vs. 13533
Offensive Rebounds
193rd
10th
183 127 vs. 502375
Defensive Rebounds
84th
4th
80 514 vs. 1,5601,046
Field Goals Made
180th
7th
173 466 vs. 1,7431,277
Field Goals Attempted
184th
6th
178 1,015 vs. 3,7682,753
3-Pointers Made
209th
+300th
+91 65 vs. 659
3-Pointers Attempted
166th
+300th
+134 225 vs. 37188
Free Throws Made
63rd
4th
59 472 vs. 1,269797
Free Throws Attempted
67th
5th
62 570 vs. 1,7251,155

Games and Years:

Joel Embiid Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
+300th
12th
+288 59 vs. 193134
Playoffs
+300th
1st
+299 7 vs. 1912

Triple-Doubles:

Joel Embiid Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
39th
+300th
1 vs. 01

Rankings by Points Scored:

Joel Embiid Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
55th
36th
19 2 vs. 42
50+ point games
9th
9th
0 1 vs. 10
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Joel Embiid Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
4th
15th
11 27.71 vs. 25.022.69
Rebounds per game
29th
51st
22 11.03 vs. 10.140.89
Assists per game
290th
+300th
+10 3.67 vs. 3.560.11
Steals per game
+300th
107th
+193 0.91 vs. 1.410.50
Blocks per game
52nd
254th
202 1.63 vs. 0.780.86
Offensive Rebounds per game
156th
111st
45 2.23 vs. 2.410.18
Defensive Rebounds per game
2nd
20th
18 8.80 vs. 7.731.08
Field Goals Made per game
19th
16th
3 9.11 vs. 9.170.06
Field Goals Attempted per game
28th
36th
8 18.17 vs. 17.760.41
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
1.18 vs. 0.061.12
3-Pointers Attempted per game
200th
+300th
+100 3.47 vs. 0.213.26
Free Throws Made per game
1st
14th
13 8.31 vs. 6.631.68
Free Throws Attempted per game
3rd
6th
3 10.04 vs. 8.931.10

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Joel Embiid Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
31st
33rd
2 24.90 vs. 24.670.23
Rebounds per game
34th
38th
4 10.86 vs. 10.680.18
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
3.08 vs. 3.160.08
Steals per game
+300th
118th
+182 0.83 vs. 1.340.51
Blocks per game
36th
299th
263 1.73 vs. 0.701.03
Offensive Rebounds per game
186th
98th
88 2.15 vs. 2.600.45
Defensive Rebounds per game
9th
18th
9 8.71 vs. 8.080.63
Field Goals Made per game
69th
33rd
36 7.90 vs. 9.031.13
Field Goals Attempted per game
74th
37th
37 17.20 vs. 19.522.32
3-Pointers Made per game
279th
+300th
+21 1.10 vs. 0.031.07
3-Pointers Attempted per game
182nd
+300th
+118 3.81 vs. 0.193.62
Free Throws Made per game
5th
17th
12 8.00 vs. 6.581.42
Free Throws Attempted per game
10th
14th
4 9.66 vs. 8.940.72

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.