Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Michael Jordan: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan 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 / Games against each other

Ever wondered how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan 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 Michael Jordan, with 15 seasons played from 1985 to 2003, 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. Michael Jordan
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan
Points
2nd
5th
3rd
2nd
Rebounds
3rd
141st
6th
40th
Assists
50th
52nd
32nd
13th
Steals
112nd
4th
36th
3rd
Blocks
3rd
126th
2nd
34th
Years20151813

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Michael Jordan
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan
Points
20th
1st
36th
1st
Rebounds
25th
+300th
45th
278th
Assists
296th
108th
296th
69th
Steals
+300th
3rd
+300th
11th
Blocks
8th
233rd
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:

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 Michael Jordan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
2nd
5th
3 38,387 vs. 32,2926,095
Rebounds
3rd
141st
138 17,440 vs. 6,67210,768
Assists
50th
52nd
2 5,660 vs. 5,63327
Steals
112nd
4th
108 1,160 vs. 2,5141,354
Blocks
3rd
126th
123 3,189 vs. 8932,296
Offensive Rebounds
32nd
177th
145 2,975 vs. 1,6681,307
Defensive Rebounds
10th
93rd
83 9,394 vs. 5,0044,390
Field Goals Made
1st
5th
4 15,837 vs. 12,1923,645
Field Goals Attempted
2nd
5th
3 28,307 vs. 24,5373,770
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
1 vs. 581580
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
18 vs. 1,7781,760
Free Throws Made
13th
7th
6 6,712 vs. 7,327615
Free Throws Attempted
9th
12th
3 9,304 vs. 8,772532

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
3rd
108th
105 1,560 vs. 1,072488
Seasons
7th
133rd
126 20 vs. 155

Triple-Doubles:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
24th
20th
4 21 vs. 287

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
11th
2nd
9 70 vs. 173103
50+ point games
11th
2nd
9 10 vs. 3121
60+ point games
-
4th
0 vs. 44
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
2nd
1 5,762 vs. 5,987225
Rebounds
6th
40th
34 2,481 vs. 1,1521,329
Assists
32nd
13th
19 767 vs. 1,022255
Steals
36th
3rd
33 189 vs. 376187
Blocks
2nd
34th
32 476 vs. 158318
Offensive Rebounds
9th
36th
27 505 vs. 305200
Defensive Rebounds
6th
32nd
26 1,273 vs. 847426
Field Goals Made
2nd
3rd
1 2,356 vs. 2,188168
Field Goals Attempted
4th
3rd
1 4,422 vs. 4,49775
3-Pointers Made
+300th
63rd
+237 0 vs. 148148
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
52nd
+248 4 vs. 446442
Free Throws Made
12th
2nd
10 1,050 vs. 1,463413
Free Throws Attempted
10th
3rd
7 1,419 vs. 1,766347

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
5th
19th
14 237 vs. 17958
Playoffs
3rd
45th
42 18 vs. 135

Triple-Doubles:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
38th
31st
7 1 vs. 21

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
12th
1st
11 9 vs. 3829
50+ point games
-
1st
0 vs. 88
60+ point games
-
1st
0 vs. 11
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
20th
1st
19 24.61 vs. 30.125.52
Rebounds per game
25th
+300th
+275 11.18 vs. 6.224.96
Assists per game
296th
108th
188 3.63 vs. 5.251.63
Steals per game
+300th
3rd
+297 0.94 vs. 2.351.41
Blocks per game
8th
233rd
225 2.57 vs. 0.831.74
Offensive Rebounds per game
114th
+300th
+186 2.40 vs. 1.560.85
Defensive Rebounds per game
27th
186th
159 7.58 vs. 4.672.91
Field Goals Made per game
5th
2nd
3 10.15 vs. 11.371.22
Field Goals Attempted per game
29th
2nd
27 18.15 vs. 22.894.74
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.540.54
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 1.661.64
Free Throws Made per game
100th
10th
90 4.30 vs. 6.832.53
Free Throws Attempted per game
76th
19th
57 5.96 vs. 8.182.22

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Michael Jordan Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
36th
1st
35 24.31 vs. 33.459.13
Rebounds per game
45th
278th
233 10.47 vs. 6.444.03
Assists per game
296th
69th
227 3.24 vs. 5.712.47
Steals per game
+300th
11th
+289 0.96 vs. 2.101.14
Blocks per game
9th
195th
186 2.43 vs. 0.881.55
Offensive Rebounds per game
101st
+300th
+199 2.58 vs. 1.700.87
Defensive Rebounds per game
66th
184th
118 6.49 vs. 4.731.76
Field Goals Made per game
14th
1st
13 9.94 vs. 12.222.28
Field Goals Attempted per game
50th
2nd
48 18.66 vs. 25.126.46
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.830.83
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.03 vs. 2.492.47
Free Throws Made per game
116th
3rd
113 4.43 vs. 8.173.74
Free Throws Attempted per game
104th
8th
96 5.99 vs. 9.873.88

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.