Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Kevin McHale: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kevin McHale 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 Kevin McHale, with 13 seasons played from 1981 to 1993, 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. Kevin McHale
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale
Points
2nd
97th
3rd
22nd
Rebounds
3rd
114th
6th
34th
Assists
50th
+300th
32nd
164th
Steals
112nd
+300th
36th
226th
Blocks
3rd
32nd
2nd
10th
Years20131813

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Kevin McHale
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale
Points
20th
143rd
36th
123rd
Rebounds
25th
207th
45th
188th
Assists
296th
+300th
296th
+300th
Steals
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Blocks
8th
39th
9th
49th

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 Kevin McHale Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
2nd
97th
95 38,387 vs. 17,33521,052
Rebounds
3rd
114th
111 17,440 vs. 7,12210,318
Assists
50th
+300th
+250 5,660 vs. 1,6703,990
Steals
112nd
+300th
+188 1,160 vs. 344816
Blocks
3rd
32nd
29 3,189 vs. 1,6901,499
Offensive Rebounds
32nd
60th
28 2,975 vs. 2,358617
Defensive Rebounds
10th
111st
101 9,394 vs. 4,7644,630
Field Goals Made
1st
87th
86 15,837 vs. 6,8309,007
Field Goals Attempted
2nd
155th
153 28,307 vs. 12,33415,973
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
1 vs. 4140
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
18 vs. 157139
Free Throws Made
13th
102nd
89 6,712 vs. 3,6343,078
Free Throws Attempted
9th
110th
101 9,304 vs. 4,5544,750

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
3rd
185th
182 1,560 vs. 971589
Seasons
8th
300th
292 20 vs. 137

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
11th
277th
266 70 vs. 268
50+ point games
11th
76th
65 10 vs. 19
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
22nd
19 5,762 vs. 3,1822,580
Rebounds
6th
34th
28 2,481 vs. 1,2531,228
Assists
32nd
164th
132 767 vs. 274493
Steals
36th
226th
190 189 vs. 65124
Blocks
2nd
10th
8 476 vs. 281195
Offensive Rebounds
9th
14th
5 505 vs. 45649
Defensive Rebounds
6th
37th
31 1,273 vs. 797476
Field Goals Made
2nd
22nd
20 2,356 vs. 1,2041,152
Field Goals Attempted
4th
39th
35 4,422 vs. 2,1452,277
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
0 vs. 88
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
4 vs. 2117
Free Throws Made
12th
22nd
10 1,050 vs. 766284
Free Throws Attempted
10th
25th
15 1,419 vs. 972447

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
5th
29th
24 237 vs. 16968
Playoffs
3rd
45th
42 18 vs. 135

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
12th
-
9 vs. 09
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
20th
143rd
123 24.61 vs. 17.856.75
Rebounds per game
25th
207th
182 11.18 vs. 7.333.84
Assists per game
296th
+300th
+4 3.63 vs. 1.721.91
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.94 vs. 0.350.58
Blocks per game
8th
39th
31 2.57 vs. 1.740.83
Offensive Rebounds per game
115th
108th
7 2.40 vs. 2.430.03
Defensive Rebounds per game
27th
161st
134 7.58 vs. 4.912.68
Field Goals Made per game
5th
117th
112 10.15 vs. 7.033.12
Field Goals Attempted per game
28th
262nd
234 18.15 vs. 12.705.44
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.040.04
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 0.160.14
Free Throws Made per game
100th
159th
59 4.30 vs. 3.740.56
Free Throws Attempted per game
76th
163rd
87 5.96 vs. 4.691.27

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kevin McHale Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
36th
123rd
87 24.31 vs. 18.835.48
Rebounds per game
45th
188th
143 10.47 vs. 7.413.05
Assists per game
296th
+300th
+4 3.24 vs. 1.621.61
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.96 vs. 0.380.58
Blocks per game
9th
49th
40 2.43 vs. 1.660.77
Offensive Rebounds per game
101st
89th
12 2.58 vs. 2.700.12
Defensive Rebounds per game
66th
185th
119 6.49 vs. 4.721.78
Field Goals Made per game
14th
119th
105 9.94 vs. 7.122.82
Field Goals Attempted per game
50th
260th
210 18.66 vs. 12.695.97
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.050.05
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.03 vs. 0.120.10
Free Throws Made per game
116th
109th
7 4.43 vs. 4.530.10
Free Throws Attempted per game
104th
121st
17 5.99 vs. 5.750.24

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.