Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Joel Embiid: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Joel Embiid 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

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 Joel Embiid, with 10 seasons played from 2017 to 2026, 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. Joel Embiid
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Points
2nd
245th
3rd
136th
Rebounds
3rd
279th
6th
131st
Assists
50th
+300th
32nd
293rd
Steals
112nd
+300th
36th
+300th
Blocks
3rd
169th
2nd
77th
Years2010187

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Joel Embiid
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid
Points
21st
4th
36th
31st
Rebounds
25th
31st
45th
34th
Assists
297th
294th
296th
+300th
Steals
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Blocks
8th
55th
9th
36th

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 Joel Embiid Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
2nd
245th
243 38,387 vs. 12,74825,639
Rebounds
3rd
279th
276 17,440 vs. 5,06012,380
Assists
50th
+300th
+250 5,660 vs. 1,6893,971
Steals
112nd
+300th
+188 1,160 vs. 420740
Blocks
3rd
169th
166 3,189 vs. 7522,437
Offensive Rebounds
32nd
+300th
+268 2,975 vs. 1,0281,947
Defensive Rebounds
10th
160th
150 9,394 vs. 4,0325,362
Field Goals Made
1st
+300th
+299 15,837 vs. 4,19211,645
Field Goals Attempted
2nd
+300th
+298 28,307 vs. 8,39019,917
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
1 vs. 544543
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
18 vs. 1,6211,603
Free Throws Made
13th
90th
77 6,712 vs. 3,8202,892
Free Throws Attempted
9th
107th
98 9,304 vs. 4,6154,689

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
3rd
+300th
1,560 vs. 4631,097
Seasons
8th
+300th
20 vs. 1010

Triple-Doubles:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
24th
75th
51 21 vs. 813

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
11th
23rd
12 70 vs. 4822
50+ point games
11th
14th
3 10 vs. 82
60+ point games
-
11th
0 vs. 11
70+ point games
-
2nd
0 vs. 11

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
136th
133 5,762 vs. 1,4694,293
Rebounds
6th
131st
125 2,481 vs. 6411,840
Assists
32nd
293rd
261 767 vs. 182585
Steals
36th
+300th
+264 189 vs. 49140
Blocks
2nd
77th
75 476 vs. 102374
Offensive Rebounds
9th
193rd
184 505 vs. 127378
Defensive Rebounds
6th
84th
78 1,273 vs. 514759
Field Goals Made
2nd
180th
178 2,356 vs. 4661,890
Field Goals Attempted
4th
184th
180 4,422 vs. 1,0153,407
3-Pointers Made
+300th
209th
+91 0 vs. 6565
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
166th
+134 4 vs. 225221
Free Throws Made
12th
63rd
51 1,050 vs. 472578
Free Throws Attempted
10th
67th
57 1,419 vs. 570849

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
5th
+300th
237 vs. 59178
Playoffs
3rd
+300th
18 vs. 711

Triple-Doubles:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
38th
39th
1 1 vs. 10

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
12th
55th
43 9 vs. 27
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 Joel Embiid Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
21st
4th
17 24.61 vs. 27.532.93
Rebounds per game
25th
31st
6 11.18 vs. 10.930.25
Assists per game
297th
294th
3 3.63 vs. 3.650.02
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.94 vs. 0.910.03
Blocks per game
8th
55th
47 2.57 vs. 1.620.95
Offensive Rebounds per game
115th
159th
44 2.40 vs. 2.220.18
Defensive Rebounds per game
26th
2nd
24 7.58 vs. 8.711.13
Field Goals Made per game
5th
19th
14 10.15 vs. 9.051.10
Field Goals Attempted per game
29th
30th
1 18.15 vs. 18.120.02
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 1.171.17
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
204th
+96 0.02 vs. 3.503.48
Free Throws Made per game
100th
1st
99 4.30 vs. 8.253.95
Free Throws Attempted per game
76th
3rd
73 5.96 vs. 9.974.00

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Joel Embiid Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
36th
31st
5 24.31 vs. 24.900.59
Rebounds per game
45th
34th
11 10.47 vs. 10.860.40
Assists per game
296th
+300th
+4 3.24 vs. 3.080.15
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.96 vs. 0.830.13
Blocks per game
9th
36th
27 2.43 vs. 1.730.70
Offensive Rebounds per game
101st
186th
85 2.58 vs. 2.150.42
Defensive Rebounds per game
66th
9th
57 6.49 vs. 8.712.22
Field Goals Made per game
14th
69th
55 9.94 vs. 7.902.04
Field Goals Attempted per game
50th
74th
24 18.66 vs. 17.201.45
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
279th
+21 0.00 vs. 1.101.10
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
182nd
+118 0.03 vs. 3.813.79
Free Throws Made per game
116th
5th
111 4.43 vs. 8.003.57
Free Throws Attempted per game
104th
10th
94 5.99 vs. 9.663.67

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, this is 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 a minimum of 3 games is applied here for the Playoffs.