Karl Malone vs. Chris Paul: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Karl Malone and Chris Paul 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 Karl Malone, with a career spanning 19 seasons from 1986 to 2004, and Chris Paul, with 20 seasons played from 2006 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.

Karl Malone vs. Chris Paul
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Karl Malone Chris Paul Karl Malone Chris Paul
Points
3rd
36th
8th
31st
Rebounds
7th
196th
7th
99th
Assists
63rd
2nd
45th
5th
Steals
12th
2nd
17th
11th
Blocks
74th
+300th
50th
+300th
Years19201915

Karl Malone vs. Chris Paul
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Karl Malone Chris Paul Karl Malone Chris Paul
Points
15th
182nd
33rd
94th
Rebounds
51st
+300th
38th
+300th
Assists
+300th
6th
+300th
14th
Steals
107th
11th
118th
14th
Blocks
254th
+300th
299th
+300th

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:

Karl Malone Chris Paul Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
36th
33 36,928 vs. 23,01113,917
Rebounds
7th
196th
189 14,968 vs. 5,9788,990
Assists
63rd
2nd
61 5,248 vs. 12,4997,251
Steals
12th
2nd
10 2,085 vs. 2,717632
Blocks
74th
+300th
+226 1,145 vs. 222923
Offensive Rebounds
14th
+300th
+286 3,562 vs. 7922,770
Defensive Rebounds
2nd
80th
78 11,406 vs. 5,1866,220
Field Goals Made
3rd
41st
38 13,528 vs. 8,1475,381
Field Goals Attempted
3rd
38th
35 26,210 vs. 17,3528,858
3-Pointers Made
+300th
26th
+274 85 vs. 1,8601,775
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
24th
+276 310 vs. 5,0294,719
Free Throws Made
1st
44th
43 9,787 vs. 4,8574,930
Free Throws Attempted
1st
67th
66 13,188 vs. 5,5797,609

Games and Years:

Karl Malone Chris Paul Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
7th
15th
8 1,476 vs. 1,354122
Seasons
12th
7th
5 19 vs. 201

Triple-Doubles:

Karl Malone Chris Paul Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
134th
34th
100 4 vs. 1814

Rankings by Points Scored:

Karl Malone Chris Paul Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
29th
121st
92 44 vs. 836
50+ point games
29th
-
4 vs. 04
60+ point games
11th
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Chris Paul Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
8th
31st
23 4,761 vs. 2,9811,780
Rebounds
7th
99th
92 2,062 vs. 7301,332
Assists
45th
5th
40 610 vs. 1,233623
Steals
17th
11th
6 258 vs. 28729
Blocks
50th
+300th
+250 135 vs. 31104
Offensive Rebounds
10th
241st
231 502 vs. 106396
Defensive Rebounds
4th
60th
56 1,560 vs. 624936
Field Goals Made
7th
30th
23 1,743 vs. 1,106637
Field Goals Attempted
6th
32nd
26 3,768 vs. 2,2871,481
3-Pointers Made
+300th
21st
+279 6 vs. 244238
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
22nd
+278 37 vs. 654617
Free Throws Made
4th
53rd
49 1,269 vs. 525744
Free Throws Attempted
5th
61st
56 1,725 vs. 6151,110

Games and Years:

Karl Malone Chris Paul Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
12th
48th
36 193 vs. 14944
Playoffs
1st
17th
16 19 vs. 154

Triple-Doubles:

Karl Malone Chris Paul Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
20th
0 vs. 33

Rankings by Points Scored:

Karl Malone Chris Paul Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
36th
55th
19 4 vs. 22
50+ point games
9th
-
1 vs. 01
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Chris Paul Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
15th
182nd
167 25.02 vs. 16.998.02
Rebounds per game
51st
+300th
+249 10.14 vs. 4.425.73
Assists per game
+300th
6th
+294 3.56 vs. 9.235.68
Steals per game
107th
11th
96 1.41 vs. 2.010.59
Blocks per game
254th
+300th
+46 0.78 vs. 0.160.61
Offensive Rebounds per game
111st
+300th
+189 2.41 vs. 0.581.83
Defensive Rebounds per game
20th
+300th
+280 7.73 vs. 3.833.90
Field Goals Made per game
16th
236th
220 9.17 vs. 6.023.15
Field Goals Attempted per game
36th
253rd
217 17.76 vs. 12.824.94
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
233rd
+67 0.06 vs. 1.371.32
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
166th
+134 0.21 vs. 3.713.50
Free Throws Made per game
14th
173rd
159 6.63 vs. 3.593.04
Free Throws Attempted per game
6th
239th
233 8.93 vs. 4.124.81

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Chris Paul Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
33rd
94th
61 24.67 vs. 20.014.66
Rebounds per game
38th
+300th
+262 10.68 vs. 4.905.78
Assists per game
+300th
14th
+286 3.16 vs. 8.285.11
Steals per game
118th
14th
104 1.34 vs. 1.930.59
Blocks per game
299th
+300th
+1 0.70 vs. 0.210.49
Offensive Rebounds per game
98th
+300th
+202 2.60 vs. 0.711.89
Defensive Rebounds per game
18th
243rd
225 8.08 vs. 4.193.89
Field Goals Made per game
33rd
99th
66 9.03 vs. 7.421.61
Field Goals Attempted per game
37th
133rd
96 19.52 vs. 15.354.17
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
120th
+180 0.03 vs. 1.641.61
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
134th
+166 0.19 vs. 4.394.20
Free Throws Made per game
17th
229th
212 6.58 vs. 3.523.05
Free Throws Attempted per game
14th
299th
285 8.94 vs. 4.134.81

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.