Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Julius Erving: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Julius Erving 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 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with a career spanning 20 seasons from 1970 to 1989, and Julius Erving, with 11 seasons played from 1977 to 1987, stand among the league's historical elite..

Dive into a meticulous breakdown of their positions in every major statistical category—from scoring and rebounding to assists, steals, and blocks—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. Julius Erving
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving
Points
2nd
79th
3rd
26th
Rebounds
3rd
229th
6th
53rd
Assists
50th
205th
32nd
50th
Steals
112nd
53rd
36th
22nd
Blocks
3rd
53rd
2nd
15th
Years20111811

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Julius Erving
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving
Points
20th
42nd
36th
59th
Rebounds
25th
265th
45th
219th
Assists
296th
251st
296th
164th
Steals
+300th
31st
+300th
40th
Blocks
8th
64th
9th
42nd

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 steals, blocks, offensive and defensive rebounds and 3-pointers.
* Some years in Julius Erving's career don't have data for 3-pointers.

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 Julius Erving Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
2nd
79th
77 38,387 vs. 18,36420,023
Rebounds
3rd
229th
226 17,440 vs. 5,60111,839
Assists
50th
205th
155 5,660 vs. 3,2242,436
Steals
112nd
53rd
59 1,160 vs. 1,508348
Blocks
3rd
53rd
50 3,189 vs. 1,2931,896
Offensive Rebounds
32nd
103rd
71 2,975 vs. 2,067908
Defensive Rebounds
10th
218th
208 9,394 vs. 3,5345,860
Field Goals Made
1st
69th
68 15,837 vs. 7,2378,600
Field Goals Attempted
2nd
92nd
90 28,307 vs. 14,27614,031
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
1 vs. 4645
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
18 vs. 176158
Free Throws Made
13th
89th
76 6,712 vs. 3,8442,868
Free Throws Attempted
9th
87th
78 9,304 vs. 4,9504,354

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
3rd
+300th
1,560 vs. 836724
Seasons
8th
+300th
20 vs. 119

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
11th
109th
98 70 vs. 961
50+ point games
11th
-
10 vs. 010
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
26th
23 5,762 vs. 3,0882,674
Rebounds
6th
53rd
47 2,481 vs. 9941,487
Assists
32nd
50th
18 767 vs. 594173
Steals
36th
22nd
14 189 vs. 23546
Blocks
2nd
15th
13 476 vs. 239237
Offensive Rebounds
9th
22nd
13 505 vs. 360145
Defensive Rebounds
6th
58th
52 1,273 vs. 634639
Field Goals Made
2nd
23rd
21 2,356 vs. 1,1871,169
Field Goals Attempted
4th
26th
22 4,422 vs. 2,4411,981
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
0 vs. 77
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
4 vs. 3632
Free Throws Made
12th
32nd
20 1,050 vs. 707343
Free Throws Attempted
10th
30th
20 1,419 vs. 908511

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
5th
65th
60 237 vs. 14196
Playoffs
3rd
110th
107 18 vs. 117

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
12th
78th
66 9 vs. 18
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
20th
42nd
22 24.61 vs. 21.972.64
Rebounds per game
25th
265th
240 11.18 vs. 6.704.48
Assists per game
296th
251st
45 3.63 vs. 3.860.23
Steals per game
+300th
31st
+269 0.94 vs. 1.800.87
Blocks per game
8th
64th
56 2.57 vs. 1.551.03
Offensive Rebounds per game
115th
102nd
13 2.40 vs. 2.470.07
Defensive Rebounds per game
27th
252nd
225 7.58 vs. 4.233.35
Field Goals Made per game
5th
30th
25 10.15 vs. 8.661.50
Field Goals Attempted per game
28th
46th
18 18.15 vs. 17.081.07
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.080.08
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 0.290.27
Free Throws Made per game
100th
76th
24 4.30 vs. 4.600.30
Free Throws Attempted per game
76th
78th
2 5.96 vs. 5.920.04

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Julius Erving Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
36th
59th
23 24.31 vs. 21.902.41
Rebounds per game
45th
219th
174 10.47 vs. 7.053.42
Assists per game
296th
164th
132 3.24 vs. 4.210.98
Steals per game
+300th
40th
+260 0.96 vs. 1.670.70
Blocks per game
9th
42nd
33 2.43 vs. 1.700.73
Offensive Rebounds per game
101st
105th
4 2.58 vs. 2.550.02
Defensive Rebounds per game
66th
207th
141 6.49 vs. 4.502.00
Field Goals Made per game
14th
50th
36 9.94 vs. 8.421.52
Field Goals Attempted per game
50th
69th
19 18.66 vs. 17.311.35
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.070.07
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.03 vs. 0.350.32
Free Throws Made per game
116th
80th
36 4.43 vs. 5.010.58
Free Throws Attempted per game
104th
80th
24 5.99 vs. 6.440.45

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.