Karl Malone vs. Karl-Anthony Towns: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Karl Malone and Karl-Anthony Towns 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 Karl-Anthony Towns, with 11 seasons played from 2016 to 2026, 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. Karl-Anthony Towns
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns
Points
3rd
160th
8th
250th
Rebounds
7th
111st
7th
181st
Assists
63rd
+300th
45th
+300th
Steals
12th
+300th
17th
+300th
Blocks
74th
163rd
50th
272nd
Years1911195

Karl Malone vs. Karl-Anthony Towns
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns
Points
15th
34th
33rd
97th
Rebounds
51st
28th
38th
37th
Assists
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Steals
107th
+300th
118th
+300th
Blocks
255th
126th
299th
288th

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 Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
160th
157 36,928 vs. 14,92522,003
Rebounds
7th
111st
104 14,968 vs. 7,1607,808
Assists
63rd
+300th
+237 5,248 vs. 2,0423,206
Steals
12th
+300th
+288 2,085 vs. 5241,561
Blocks
74th
163rd
89 1,145 vs. 772373
Offensive Rebounds
14th
144th
130 3,562 vs. 1,8091,753
Defensive Rebounds
2nd
72nd
70 11,406 vs. 5,3516,055
Field Goals Made
3rd
177th
174 13,528 vs. 5,4718,057
Field Goals Attempted
3rd
258th
255 26,210 vs. 10,45215,758
3-Pointers Made
+300th
128th
+172 85 vs. 1,1221,037
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
160th
+140 310 vs. 2,8002,490
Free Throws Made
1st
195th
194 9,787 vs. 2,8616,926
Free Throws Attempted
1st
240th
239 13,188 vs. 3,4169,772

Games and Years:

Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
7th
+300th
1,476 vs. 647829
Seasons
12th
+300th
19 vs. 118

Triple-Doubles:

Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
134th
160th
26 4 vs. 31

Rankings by Points Scored:

Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
29th
64th
35 44 vs. 1826
50+ point games
29th
40th
11 4 vs. 31
60+ point games
11th
7th
4 1 vs. 21
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
8th
250th
242 4,761 vs. 9893,772
Rebounds
7th
181st
174 2,062 vs. 5361,526
Assists
45th
+300th
+255 610 vs. 100510
Steals
17th
+300th
+283 258 vs. 34224
Blocks
50th
272nd
222 135 vs. 3699
Offensive Rebounds
10th
242nd
232 502 vs. 105397
Defensive Rebounds
4th
116th
112 1,560 vs. 4311,129
Field Goals Made
7th
272nd
265 1,743 vs. 3461,397
Field Goals Attempted
6th
293rd
287 3,768 vs. 7273,041
3-Pointers Made
+300th
173rd
+127 6 vs. 7569
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
177th
+123 37 vs. 214177
Free Throws Made
4th
219th
215 1,269 vs. 2221,047
Free Throws Attempted
5th
243rd
238 1,725 vs. 2671,458

Games and Years:

Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
12th
+300th
193 vs. 50143
Playoffs
1st
+300th
19 vs. 514

Triple-Doubles:

Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
+300th
0 vs. 00

Rankings by Points Scored:

Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
36th
-
4 vs. 04
50+ point games
9th
-
1 vs. 01
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
15th
34th
19 25.02 vs. 23.071.95
Rebounds per game
51st
28th
23 10.14 vs. 11.070.93
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
3.56 vs. 3.160.40
Steals per game
107th
+300th
+193 1.41 vs. 0.810.60
Blocks per game
255th
126th
129 0.78 vs. 1.190.42
Offensive Rebounds per game
112nd
52nd
60 2.41 vs. 2.800.38
Defensive Rebounds per game
20th
8th
12 7.73 vs. 8.270.54
Field Goals Made per game
16th
35th
19 9.17 vs. 8.460.71
Field Goals Attempted per game
36th
71st
35 17.76 vs. 16.151.60
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
107th
+193 0.06 vs. 1.731.68
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
98th
+202 0.21 vs. 4.334.12
Free Throws Made per game
14th
87th
73 6.63 vs. 4.422.21
Free Throws Attempted per game
6th
114th
108 8.93 vs. 5.283.66

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
33rd
97th
64 24.67 vs. 19.784.89
Rebounds per game
38th
37th
1 10.68 vs. 10.720.04
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
3.16 vs. 2.001.16
Steals per game
118th
+300th
+182 1.34 vs. 0.680.66
Blocks per game
299th
288th
11 0.70 vs. 0.720.02
Offensive Rebounds per game
98th
198th
100 2.60 vs. 2.100.50
Defensive Rebounds per game
18th
10th
8 8.08 vs. 8.620.54
Field Goals Made per game
33rd
133rd
100 9.03 vs. 6.922.11
Field Goals Attempted per game
37th
162nd
125 19.52 vs. 14.544.98
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
155th
+145 0.03 vs. 1.501.47
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
140th
+160 0.19 vs. 4.284.09
Free Throws Made per game
17th
113rd
96 6.58 vs. 4.442.14
Free Throws Attempted per game
14th
144th
130 8.94 vs. 5.343.60

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.