Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. LeBron James: NBA Rankings Comparison
The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James all-time NBA rankings. Explore their historical standing across total and per-game stats, regular season and playoffs. Who ranks higher?
Ever wondered how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James truly stack up 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 LeBron James, with 22 seasons played from 2004 to 2025, 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. LeBron James | ||||
Career Totals |
Season | Playoffs | ||
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | |
Points | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 1st |
Rebounds | 3rd | 25th | 6th | 4th |
Assists | 50th | 4th | 32nd | 2nd |
Steals | 112nd | 6th | 36th | 1st |
Blocks | 3rd | 70th | 2nd | 9th |
Years | 20 | 22 | 18 | 18 |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. LeBron James | ||||
Career Per Game |
Season | Playoffs | ||
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | |
Points | 20th | 8th | 36th | 6th |
Rebounds | 25th | 188th | 45th | 103rd |
Assists | 296th | 25th | 296th | 25th |
Steals | +300th | 82nd | +300th | 37th |
Blocks | 8th | 267th | 9th | 164th |
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: |
Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points | 2nd | 1st | 1 | 38,387 vs. 42,184 | 3,797 |
Rebounds | 3rd | 25th | 22 | 17,440 vs. 11,731 | 5,709 |
Assists | 50th | 4th | 46 | 5,660 vs. 11,584 | 5,924 |
Steals | 112nd | 6th | 106 | 1,160 vs. 2,345 | 1,185 |
Blocks | 3rd | 70th | 67 | 3,189 vs. 1,150 | 2,039 |
Offensive Rebounds | 32nd | 147th | 115 | 2,975 vs. 1,799 | 1,176 |
Defensive Rebounds | 10th | 7th | 3 | 9,394 vs. 9,932 | 538 |
Field Goals Made | 1st | 2nd | 1 | 15,837 vs. 15,488 | 349 |
Field Goals Attempted | 2nd | 1st | 1 | 28,307 vs. 30,583 | 2,276 |
3-Pointers Made | +300th | 7th | +293 | 1 vs. 2,559 | 2,558 |
3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | 5th | +295 | 18 vs. 7,322 | 7,304 |
Free Throws Made | 13th | 2nd | 11 | 6,712 vs. 8,649 | 1,937 |
Free Throws Attempted | 9th | 3rd | 6 | 9,304 vs. 11,735 | 2,431 |
Games and Years: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Games Played | 3rd | 2nd | 1 | 1,560 vs. 1,562 | 2 |
Seasons | 7th | 1st | 6 | 20 vs. 22 | 2 |
Triple-Doubles: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Triple-Doubles | 24th | 5th | 19 | 21 vs. 122 | 101 |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
40+ point games | 11th | 6th | 5 | 70 vs. 79 | 9 |
50+ point games | 11th | 8th | 3 | 10 vs. 14 | 4 |
60+ point games | - | 11th | 0 vs. 1 | 1 | |
70+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 |
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points | 3rd | 1st | 2 | 5,762 vs. 8,289 | 2,527 |
Rebounds | 6th | 4th | 2 | 2,481 vs. 2,628 | 147 |
Assists | 32nd | 2nd | 30 | 767 vs. 2,095 | 1,328 |
Steals | 36th | 1st | 35 | 189 vs. 493 | 304 |
Blocks | 2nd | 9th | 7 | 476 vs. 284 | 192 |
Offensive Rebounds | 9th | 15th | 6 | 505 vs. 442 | 63 |
Defensive Rebounds | 6th | 1st | 5 | 1,273 vs. 2,186 | 913 |
Field Goals Made | 2nd | 1st | 1 | 2,356 vs. 2,971 | 615 |
Field Goals Attempted | 4th | 1st | 3 | 4,422 vs. 5,984 | 1,562 |
3-Pointers Made | +300th | 3rd | +297 | 0 vs. 480 | 480 |
3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | 2nd | +298 | 4 vs. 1,443 | 1,439 |
Free Throws Made | 12th | 1st | 11 | 1,050 vs. 1,867 | 817 |
Free Throws Attempted | 10th | 1st | 9 | 1,419 vs. 2,519 | 1,100 |
Games and Years: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Games Played | 5th | 1st | 4 | 237 vs. 292 | 55 |
Playoffs | 3rd | 3rd | 0 | 18 vs. 18 | 0 |
Triple-Doubles: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Triple-Doubles | 38th | 2nd | 36 | 1 vs. 28 | 27 |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
40+ point games | 12th | 2nd | 10 | 9 vs. 29 | 20 |
50+ point games | - | 9th | 0 vs. 1 | 1 | |
60+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points per game | 20th | 8th | 12 | 24.61 vs. 27.01 | 2.40 |
Rebounds per game | 25th | 188th | 163 | 11.18 vs. 7.51 | 3.67 |
Assists per game | 296th | 25th | 271 | 3.63 vs. 7.42 | 3.79 |
Steals per game | +300th | 82nd | +218 | 0.94 vs. 1.50 | 0.57 |
Blocks per game | 8th | 267th | 259 | 2.57 vs. 0.74 | 1.84 |
Offensive Rebounds per game | 114th | +300th | +186 | 2.40 vs. 1.15 | 1.25 |
Defensive Rebounds per game | 27th | 63rd | 36 | 7.58 vs. 6.36 | 1.22 |
Field Goals Made per game | 5th | 6th | 1 | 10.15 vs. 9.92 | 0.24 |
Field Goals Attempted per game | 29th | 13th | 16 | 18.15 vs. 19.58 | 1.43 |
3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | 132nd | +168 | 0.00 vs. 1.64 | 1.64 |
3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | 72nd | +228 | 0.02 vs. 4.69 | 4.66 |
Free Throws Made per game | 100th | 34th | 66 | 4.30 vs. 5.54 | 1.23 |
Free Throws Attempted per game | 76th | 27th | 49 | 5.96 vs. 7.51 | 1.55 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | LeBron James | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points per game | 36th | 6th | 30 | 24.31 vs. 28.39 | 4.07 |
Rebounds per game | 45th | 103rd | 58 | 10.47 vs. 9.00 | 1.47 |
Assists per game | 296th | 25th | 271 | 3.24 vs. 7.17 | 3.94 |
Steals per game | +300th | 37th | +263 | 0.96 vs. 1.69 | 0.72 |
Blocks per game | 9th | 164th | 155 | 2.43 vs. 0.97 | 1.46 |
Offensive Rebounds per game | 101st | +300th | +199 | 2.58 vs. 1.51 | 1.06 |
Defensive Rebounds per game | 66th | 30th | 36 | 6.49 vs. 7.49 | 0.99 |
Field Goals Made per game | 14th | 10th | 4 | 9.94 vs. 10.17 | 0.23 |
Field Goals Attempted per game | 50th | 19th | 31 | 18.66 vs. 20.49 | 1.83 |
3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | 120th | +180 | 0.00 vs. 1.64 | 1.64 |
3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | 95th | +205 | 0.03 vs. 4.94 | 4.92 |
Free Throws Made per game | 116th | 22nd | 94 | 4.43 vs. 6.39 | 1.96 |
Free Throws Attempted per game | 104th | 17th | 87 | 5.99 vs. 8.63 | 2.64 |
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.