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?
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 | ||||
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 |
| Years | 20 | 16 | 18 | 13 |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Charles Barkley | ||||
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: |
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Their rankings for: |
Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Charles Barkley | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Points | 2nd | 31st | 29 | 38,387 vs. 23,757 | 14,630 |
| Rebounds | 3rd | 19th | 16 | 17,440 vs. 12,546 | 4,894 |
| Assists | 50th | 111st | 61 | 5,660 vs. 4,215 | 1,445 |
| Steals | 112nd | 28th | 84 | 1,160 vs. 1,648 | 488 |
| Blocks | 3rd | 130th | 127 | 3,189 vs. 888 | 2,301 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 32nd | 5th | 27 | 2,975 vs. 4,260 | 1,285 |
| Defensive Rebounds | 10th | 15th | 5 | 9,394 vs. 8,286 | 1,108 |
| Field Goals Made | 1st | 35th | 34 | 15,837 vs. 8,435 | 7,402 |
| Field Goals Attempted | 2nd | 61st | 59 | 28,307 vs. 15,605 | 12,702 |
| 3-Pointers Made | +300th | +300th | 1 vs. 538 | 537 | |
| 3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | 292nd | +8 | 18 vs. 2,020 | 2,002 |
| Free Throws Made | 13th | 17th | 4 | 6,712 vs. 6,349 | 363 |
| Free Throws Attempted | 9th | 13th | 4 | 9,304 vs. 8,643 | 661 |
Games and Years: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Charles Barkley | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Games Played | 3rd | 106th | 103 | 1,560 vs. 1,073 | 487 |
| Seasons | 8th | 91st | 83 | 20 vs. 16 | 4 |
Triple-Doubles: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Charles Barkley | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Triple-Doubles | 24th | 29th | 5 | 21 vs. 20 | 1 |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Charles Barkley | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| 40+ point games | 11th | 57th | 46 | 70 vs. 21 | 49 |
| 50+ point games | 11th | - | 10 vs. 0 | 10 | |
| 60+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 | |
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Charles Barkley | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Points | 3rd | 36th | 33 | 5,762 vs. 2,833 | 2,929 |
| Rebounds | 6th | 15th | 9 | 2,481 vs. 1,582 | 899 |
| Assists | 32nd | 63rd | 31 | 767 vs. 482 | 285 |
| Steals | 36th | 35th | 1 | 189 vs. 193 | 4 |
| Blocks | 2nd | 68th | 66 | 476 vs. 108 | 368 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 9th | 7th | 2 | 505 vs. 510 | 5 |
| Defensive Rebounds | 6th | 17th | 11 | 1,273 vs. 1,072 | 201 |
| Field Goals Made | 2nd | 36th | 34 | 2,356 vs. 1,009 | 1,347 |
| Field Goals Attempted | 4th | 47th | 43 | 4,422 vs. 1,965 | 2,457 |
| 3-Pointers Made | +300th | 215th | +85 | 0 vs. 64 | 64 |
| 3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | 138th | +162 | 4 vs. 251 | 247 |
| Free Throws Made | 12th | 25th | 13 | 1,050 vs. 751 | 299 |
| Free Throws Attempted | 10th | 18th | 8 | 1,419 vs. 1,048 | 371 |
Games and Years: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Charles Barkley | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Games Played | 5th | 100th | 95 | 237 vs. 123 | 114 |
| Playoffs | 3rd | 45th | 42 | 18 vs. 13 | 5 |
Triple-Doubles: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Charles Barkley | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Triple-Doubles | 38th | 13th | 25 | 1 vs. 4 | 3 |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Charles Barkley | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| 40+ point games | 12th | 28th | 16 | 9 vs. 5 | 4 |
| 50+ point games | - | 9th | 0 vs. 1 | 1 | |
| 60+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 | |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Charles Barkley | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Points per game | 20th | 38th | 18 | 24.61 vs. 22.14 | 2.47 |
| Rebounds per game | 25th | 21st | 4 | 11.18 vs. 11.69 | 0.51 |
| Assists per game | 296th | 239th | 57 | 3.63 vs. 3.93 | 0.30 |
| Steals per game | +300th | 72nd | +228 | 0.94 vs. 1.54 | 0.60 |
| Blocks per game | 8th | 234th | 226 | 2.57 vs. 0.83 | 1.75 |
| Offensive Rebounds per game | 115th | 4th | 111 | 2.40 vs. 3.97 | 1.57 |
| Defensive Rebounds per game | 27th | 21st | 6 | 7.58 vs. 7.72 | 0.14 |
| Field Goals Made per game | 5th | 56th | 51 | 10.15 vs. 7.86 | 2.29 |
| Field Goals Attempted per game | 28th | 147th | 119 | 18.15 vs. 14.54 | 3.60 |
| 3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | +300th | 0.00 vs. 0.50 | 0.50 | |
| 3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | +300th | 0.02 vs. 1.88 | 1.86 | |
| Free Throws Made per game | 100th | 22nd | 78 | 4.30 vs. 5.92 | 1.61 |
| Free Throws Attempted per game | 76th | 20th | 56 | 5.96 vs. 8.05 | 2.09 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Charles Barkley | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Points per game | 36th | 44th | 8 | 24.31 vs. 23.03 | 1.28 |
| Rebounds per game | 45th | 13th | 32 | 10.47 vs. 12.86 | 2.39 |
| Assists per game | 296th | 197th | 99 | 3.24 vs. 3.92 | 0.68 |
| Steals per game | +300th | 57th | +243 | 0.96 vs. 1.57 | 0.60 |
| Blocks per game | 9th | 195th | 186 | 2.43 vs. 0.88 | 1.55 |
| Offensive Rebounds per game | 101st | 4th | 97 | 2.58 vs. 4.15 | 1.57 |
| Defensive Rebounds per game | 66th | 8th | 58 | 6.49 vs. 8.72 | 2.22 |
| Field Goals Made per game | 14th | 58th | 44 | 9.94 vs. 8.20 | 1.74 |
| Field Goals Attempted per game | 50th | 108th | 58 | 18.66 vs. 15.98 | 2.68 |
| 3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | +300th | 0.00 vs. 0.52 | 0.52 | |
| 3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | +300th | 0.03 vs. 2.04 | 2.02 | |
| Free Throws Made per game | 116th | 31st | 85 | 4.43 vs. 6.11 | 1.68 |
| Free Throws Attempted per game | 104th | 19th | 85 | 5.99 vs. 8.52 | 2.53 |
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.