Karl Malone vs. Jayson Tatum: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Karl Malone and Jayson Tatum 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 Jayson Tatum, with 8 seasons played from 2018 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. Jayson Tatum
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Karl Malone Jayson Tatum
Points
3rd
208th
8th
34th
Rebounds
7th
+300th
7th
54th
Assists
63rd
+300th
45th
51st
Steals
12th
+300th
17th
63rd
Blocks
74th
+300th
50th
71st
Years198198

Karl Malone vs. Jayson Tatum
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Karl Malone Jayson Tatum
Points
15th
31st
33rd
38th
Rebounds
51st
205th
38th
136th
Assists
+300th
255th
+300th
112nd
Steals
107th
279th
118th
193rd
Blocks
255th
+300th
299th
195th

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 Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
208th
205 36,928 vs. 13,78423,144
Rebounds
7th
+300th
+293 14,968 vs. 4,29310,675
Assists
63rd
+300th
+237 5,248 vs. 2,2433,005
Steals
12th
+300th
+288 2,085 vs. 6391,446
Blocks
74th
+300th
+226 1,145 vs. 384761
Offensive Rebounds
14th
+300th
+286 3,562 vs. 5123,050
Defensive Rebounds
2nd
191st
189 11,406 vs. 3,7817,625
Field Goals Made
3rd
259th
256 13,528 vs. 4,7898,739
Field Goals Attempted
3rd
259th
256 26,210 vs. 10,42915,781
3-Pointers Made
+300th
48th
+252 85 vs. 1,5461,461
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
49th
+251 310 vs. 4,1813,871
Free Throws Made
1st
228th
227 9,787 vs. 2,6607,127
Free Throws Attempted
1st
281st
280 13,188 vs. 3,16710,021

Games and Years:

Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
7th
+300th
1,476 vs. 585891
Seasons
12th
+300th
19 vs. 811

Triple-Doubles:

Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
134th
134th
0 4 vs. 40

Rankings by Points Scored:

Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
29th
44th
15 44 vs. 2915
50+ point games
29th
23rd
6 4 vs. 51
60+ point games
11th
11th
0 1 vs. 10
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
8th
34th
26 4,761 vs. 2,9361,825
Rebounds
7th
54th
47 2,062 vs. 9891,073
Assists
45th
51st
6 610 vs. 59218
Steals
17th
63rd
46 258 vs. 143115
Blocks
50th
71st
21 135 vs. 10629
Offensive Rebounds
10th
208th
198 502 vs. 118384
Defensive Rebounds
4th
29th
25 1,560 vs. 871689
Field Goals Made
7th
38th
31 1,743 vs. 983760
Field Goals Attempted
6th
33rd
27 3,768 vs. 2,2411,527
3-Pointers Made
+300th
11th
+289 6 vs. 292286
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
9th
+291 37 vs. 840803
Free Throws Made
4th
35th
31 1,269 vs. 678591
Free Throws Attempted
5th
40th
35 1,725 vs. 806919

Games and Years:

Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
12th
103rd
91 193 vs. 12172
Playoffs
1st
+300th
19 vs. 811

Triple-Doubles:

Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
39th
0 vs. 11

Rankings by Points Scored:

Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
36th
28th
8 4 vs. 51
50+ point games
9th
5th
4 1 vs. 21
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
15th
31st
16 25.02 vs. 23.561.46
Rebounds per game
51st
205th
154 10.14 vs. 7.342.80
Assists per game
+300th
255th
+45 3.56 vs. 3.830.28
Steals per game
107th
279th
172 1.41 vs. 1.090.32
Blocks per game
255th
+300th
+45 0.78 vs. 0.660.12
Offensive Rebounds per game
112nd
+300th
+188 2.41 vs. 0.881.54
Defensive Rebounds per game
20th
60th
40 7.73 vs. 6.461.26
Field Goals Made per game
16th
45th
29 9.17 vs. 8.190.98
Field Goals Attempted per game
36th
34th
2 17.76 vs. 17.830.07
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
13th
+287 0.06 vs. 2.642.59
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
9th
+291 0.21 vs. 7.156.94
Free Throws Made per game
14th
80th
66 6.63 vs. 4.552.08
Free Throws Attempted per game
6th
106th
100 8.93 vs. 5.413.52

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Jayson Tatum Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
33rd
38th
5 24.67 vs. 24.260.40
Rebounds per game
38th
136th
98 10.68 vs. 8.172.51
Assists per game
+300th
112nd
+188 3.16 vs. 4.891.73
Steals per game
118th
193rd
75 1.34 vs. 1.180.15
Blocks per game
299th
195th
104 0.70 vs. 0.880.18
Offensive Rebounds per game
98th
+300th
+202 2.60 vs. 0.981.63
Defensive Rebounds per game
18th
37th
19 8.08 vs. 7.200.88
Field Goals Made per game
33rd
61st
28 9.03 vs. 8.120.91
Field Goals Attempted per game
37th
53rd
16 19.52 vs. 18.521.00
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
20th
+280 0.03 vs. 2.412.38
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
13th
+287 0.19 vs. 6.946.75
Free Throws Made per game
17th
48th
31 6.58 vs. 5.600.97
Free Throws Attempted per game
14th
72nd
58 8.94 vs. 6.662.28

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.