John Havlicek vs. Karl Malone: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare John Havlicek 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 John Havlicek, with a career spanning 16 seasons from 1963 to 1978, 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.

John Havlicek vs. Karl Malone
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
John Havlicek Karl Malone John Havlicek Karl Malone
Points
19th
3rd
15th
8th
Rebounds
82nd
7th
37th
7th
Assists
40th
63rd
28th
45th
Steals
+300th
12th
253rd
17th
Blocks
+300th
74th
+300th
50th
Years16191319

John Havlicek vs. Karl Malone
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
John Havlicek Karl Malone John Havlicek Karl Malone
Points
56th
15th
57th
33rd
Rebounds
+300th
51st
232nd
38th
Assists
148th
+300th
120th
+300th
Steals
+300th
107th
215th
118th
Blocks
+300th
254th
+300th
299th

Steals, blocks, offensive and defensive rebounds started to be recorded in the 1973-74 season. The 3-point shot was implemented in the 1979-80 season.
n/a = The player doesn't have data for the stat.
* Some years in John Havlicek'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:

John Havlicek Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
19th
3rd
16 26,395 vs. 36,92810,533
Rebounds
82nd
7th
75 8,007 vs. 14,9686,961
Assists
40th
63rd
23 6,114 vs. 5,248866
Steals
+300th
12th
+288 476 vs. 2,0851,609
Blocks
+300th
74th
+226 117 vs. 1,1451,028
Offensive Rebounds
+300th
14th
+286 610 vs. 3,5622,952
Defensive Rebounds
+300th
2nd
+298 1,389 vs. 11,40610,017
Field Goals Made
13th
3rd
10 10,513 vs. 13,5283,015
Field Goals Attempted
7th
3rd
4 23,930 vs. 26,2102,280
3-Pointers Made
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 85
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 310
Free Throws Made
32nd
1st
31 5,369 vs. 9,7874,418
Free Throws Attempted
36th
1st
35 6,589 vs. 13,1886,599

Games and Years:

John Havlicek Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
32nd
7th
25 1,270 vs. 1,476206
Seasons
87th
12th
75 16 vs. 193

Triple-Doubles:

John Havlicek Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
18th
134th
116 31 vs. 427

Rankings by Points Scored:

John Havlicek Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
88th
29th
59 12 vs. 4432
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:

John Havlicek Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
15th
8th
7 3,776 vs. 4,761985
Rebounds
37th
7th
30 1,186 vs. 2,062876
Assists
28th
45th
17 825 vs. 610215
Steals
253rd
17th
236 60 vs. 258198
Blocks
+300th
50th
+250 16 vs. 135119
Offensive Rebounds
+300th
10th
+290 79 vs. 502423
Defensive Rebounds
+300th
4th
+296 199 vs. 1,5601,361
Field Goals Made
13th
7th
6 1,451 vs. 1,743292
Field Goals Attempted
11th
6th
5 3,329 vs. 3,768439
3-Pointers Made
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 6
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 37
Free Throws Made
15th
4th
11 874 vs. 1,269395
Free Throws Attempted
19th
5th
14 1,046 vs. 1,725679

Games and Years:

John Havlicek Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
24th
12th
12 172 vs. 19321
Playoffs
45th
1st
44 13 vs. 196

Triple-Doubles:

John Havlicek Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
12th
+300th
5 vs. 05

Rankings by Points Scored:

John Havlicek Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
28th
36th
8 5 vs. 41
50+ point games
9th
9th
0 1 vs. 10
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

John Havlicek Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
56th
15th
41 20.78 vs. 25.024.24
Rebounds per game
+300th
51st
+249 6.30 vs. 10.143.84
Assists per game
148th
+300th
+152 4.81 vs. 3.561.26
Steals per game
+300th
107th
+193 1.21 vs. 1.410.21
Blocks per game
+300th
254th
+46 0.30 vs. 0.780.48
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
111st
+189 1.54 vs. 2.410.87
Defensive Rebounds per game
+300th
20th
+280 3.52 vs. 7.734.21
Field Goals Made per game
42nd
16th
26 8.28 vs. 9.170.89
Field Goals Attempted per game
20th
36th
16 18.84 vs. 17.761.09
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.06
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.21
Free Throws Made per game
105th
14th
91 4.23 vs. 6.632.40
Free Throws Attempted per game
121st
6th
115 5.19 vs. 8.933.75

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

John Havlicek Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
57th
33rd
24 21.95 vs. 24.672.71
Rebounds per game
232nd
38th
194 6.90 vs. 10.683.79
Assists per game
120th
+300th
+180 4.80 vs. 3.161.64
Steals per game
215th
118th
97 1.13 vs. 1.340.20
Blocks per game
+300th
299th
+1 0.30 vs. 0.700.40
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
98th
+202 1.49 vs. 2.601.11
Defensive Rebounds per game
+300th
18th
+282 3.75 vs. 8.084.33
Field Goals Made per game
48th
33rd
15 8.44 vs. 9.030.60
Field Goals Attempted per game
40th
37th
3 19.35 vs. 19.520.17
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.03
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.19
Free Throws Made per game
75th
17th
58 5.08 vs. 6.581.49
Free Throws Attempted per game
98th
14th
84 6.08 vs. 8.942.86

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.