Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Charles Barkley: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Charles Barkley 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

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with a career spanning 20 seasons from 1970 to 1989, and Charles Barkley, with 16 seasons played from 1985 to 2000, 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.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Charles Barkley
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley
Points
2nd
31st
3rd
36th
Rebounds
3rd
19th
6th
15th
Assists
50th
111st
32nd
63rd
Steals
112nd
28th
36th
35th
Blocks
3rd
130th
2nd
68th
Years20161813

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Charles Barkley
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley
Points
20th
38th
36th
44th
Rebounds
25th
21st
45th
13th
Assists
296th
239th
296th
197th
Steals
+300th
72nd
+300th
57th
Blocks
8th
234th
9th
195th

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.
* Some years in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar'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:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
2nd
31st
29 38,387 vs. 23,75714,630
Rebounds
3rd
19th
16 17,440 vs. 12,5464,894
Assists
50th
111st
61 5,660 vs. 4,2151,445
Steals
112nd
28th
84 1,160 vs. 1,648488
Blocks
3rd
130th
127 3,189 vs. 8882,301
Offensive Rebounds
32nd
5th
27 2,975 vs. 4,2601,285
Defensive Rebounds
10th
15th
5 9,394 vs. 8,2861,108
Field Goals Made
1st
35th
34 15,837 vs. 8,4357,402
Field Goals Attempted
2nd
61st
59 28,307 vs. 15,60512,702
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
1 vs. 538537
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
292nd
+8 18 vs. 2,0202,002
Free Throws Made
13th
17th
4 6,712 vs. 6,349363
Free Throws Attempted
9th
13th
4 9,304 vs. 8,643661

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
3rd
106th
103 1,560 vs. 1,073487
Seasons
8th
91st
83 20 vs. 164

Triple-Doubles:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
24th
29th
5 21 vs. 201

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
11th
57th
46 70 vs. 2149
50+ point games
11th
-
10 vs. 010
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
36th
33 5,762 vs. 2,8332,929
Rebounds
6th
15th
9 2,481 vs. 1,582899
Assists
32nd
63rd
31 767 vs. 482285
Steals
36th
35th
1 189 vs. 1934
Blocks
2nd
68th
66 476 vs. 108368
Offensive Rebounds
9th
7th
2 505 vs. 5105
Defensive Rebounds
6th
17th
11 1,273 vs. 1,072201
Field Goals Made
2nd
36th
34 2,356 vs. 1,0091,347
Field Goals Attempted
4th
47th
43 4,422 vs. 1,9652,457
3-Pointers Made
+300th
215th
+85 0 vs. 6464
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
138th
+162 4 vs. 251247
Free Throws Made
12th
25th
13 1,050 vs. 751299
Free Throws Attempted
10th
18th
8 1,419 vs. 1,048371

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
5th
100th
95 237 vs. 123114
Playoffs
3rd
45th
42 18 vs. 135

Triple-Doubles:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
38th
13th
25 1 vs. 43

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
12th
28th
16 9 vs. 54
50+ point games
-
9th
0 vs. 11
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
20th
38th
18 24.61 vs. 22.142.47
Rebounds per game
25th
21st
4 11.18 vs. 11.690.51
Assists per game
296th
239th
57 3.63 vs. 3.930.30
Steals per game
+300th
72nd
+228 0.94 vs. 1.540.60
Blocks per game
8th
234th
226 2.57 vs. 0.831.75
Offensive Rebounds per game
115th
4th
111 2.40 vs. 3.971.57
Defensive Rebounds per game
27th
21st
6 7.58 vs. 7.720.14
Field Goals Made per game
5th
56th
51 10.15 vs. 7.862.29
Field Goals Attempted per game
28th
147th
119 18.15 vs. 14.543.60
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.500.50
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 1.881.86
Free Throws Made per game
100th
22nd
78 4.30 vs. 5.921.61
Free Throws Attempted per game
76th
20th
56 5.96 vs. 8.052.09

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Charles Barkley Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
36th
44th
8 24.31 vs. 23.031.28
Rebounds per game
45th
13th
32 10.47 vs. 12.862.39
Assists per game
296th
197th
99 3.24 vs. 3.920.68
Steals per game
+300th
57th
+243 0.96 vs. 1.570.60
Blocks per game
9th
195th
186 2.43 vs. 0.881.55
Offensive Rebounds per game
101st
4th
97 2.58 vs. 4.151.57
Defensive Rebounds per game
66th
8th
58 6.49 vs. 8.722.22
Field Goals Made per game
14th
58th
44 9.94 vs. 8.201.74
Field Goals Attempted per game
50th
108th
58 18.66 vs. 15.982.68
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.520.52
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.03 vs. 2.042.02
Free Throws Made per game
116th
31st
85 4.43 vs. 6.111.68
Free Throws Attempted per game
104th
19th
85 5.99 vs. 8.522.53

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.