Karl Malone vs. Oscar Robertson: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Karl Malone and Oscar Robertson 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 Oscar Robertson, with 14 seasons played from 1961 to 1974, 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. Oscar Robertson
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Karl Malone Oscar Robertson
Points
3rd
15th
8th
76th
Rebounds
7th
85th
7th
156th
Assists
63rd
9th
45th
31st
Steals
12th
+300th
17th
+300th
Blocks
74th
+300th
50th
+300th
Years19141910

Karl Malone vs. Oscar Robertson
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Karl Malone Oscar Robertson
Points
15th
12th
33rd
54th
Rebounds
51st
190th
38th
246th
Assists
+300th
4th
+300th
5th
Steals
107th
+300th
118th
+300th
Blocks
254th
+300th
299th
+300th

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.
n/a = The player doesn't have data for the stat.
* Some years in Oscar Robertson'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:

Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
15th
12 36,928 vs. 26,71010,218
Rebounds
7th
85th
78 14,968 vs. 7,8047,164
Assists
63rd
9th
54 5,248 vs. 9,8874,639
Steals
12th
+300th
+288 2,085 vs. 772,008
Blocks
74th
+300th
+226 1,145 vs. 41,141
Offensive Rebounds
14th
+300th
+286 3,562 vs. 713,491
Defensive Rebounds
2nd
+300th
+298 11,406 vs. 20811,198
Field Goals Made
3rd
20th
17 13,528 vs. 9,5084,020
Field Goals Attempted
3rd
21st
18 26,210 vs. 19,6206,590
3-Pointers Made
+300th
n/a
85 vs. 0
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
n/a
310 vs. 0
Free Throws Made
1st
6th
5 9,787 vs. 7,6942,093
Free Throws Attempted
1st
10th
9 13,188 vs. 9,1854,003

Games and Years:

Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
7th
129th
122 1,476 vs. 1,040436
Seasons
12th
190th
178 19 vs. 145

Triple-Doubles:

Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
134th
2nd
132 4 vs. 181177

Rankings by Points Scored:

Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
29th
8th
21 44 vs. 7733
50+ point games
29th
49th
20 4 vs. 22
60+ point games
11th
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
8th
76th
68 4,761 vs. 1,9102,851
Rebounds
7th
156th
149 2,062 vs. 5781,484
Assists
45th
31st
14 610 vs. 769159
Steals
17th
+300th
+283 258 vs. 15243
Blocks
50th
+300th
+250 135 vs. 4131
Offensive Rebounds
10th
+300th
+290 502 vs. 15487
Defensive Rebounds
4th
+300th
+296 1,560 vs. 391,521
Field Goals Made
7th
89th
82 1,743 vs. 6751,068
Field Goals Attempted
6th
92nd
86 3,768 vs. 1,4662,302
3-Pointers Made
+300th
n/a
6 vs. 0
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
n/a
37 vs. 0
Free Throws Made
4th
47th
43 1,269 vs. 560709
Free Throws Attempted
5th
54th
49 1,725 vs. 6551,070

Games and Years:

Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
12th
245th
233 193 vs. 86107
Playoffs
1st
154th
153 19 vs. 109

Triple-Doubles:

Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
11th
0 vs. 88

Rankings by Points Scored:

Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
36th
37th
1 4 vs. 40
50+ point games
9th
-
1 vs. 01
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
15th
12th
3 25.02 vs. 25.680.66
Rebounds per game
51st
190th
139 10.14 vs. 7.502.64
Assists per game
+300th
4th
+296 3.56 vs. 9.515.95
Steals per game
107th
+300th
+193 1.41 vs. 1.100.31
Blocks per game
254th
+300th
+46 0.78 vs. 0.060.72
Offensive Rebounds per game
111st
+300th
+189 2.41 vs. 1.011.40
Defensive Rebounds per game
20th
+300th
+280 7.73 vs. 2.974.76
Field Goals Made per game
16th
17th
1 9.17 vs. 9.140.02
Field Goals Attempted per game
36th
19th
17 17.76 vs. 18.871.11
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
n/a
0.06 vs. 0.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
n/a
0.21 vs. 0.00
Free Throws Made per game
14th
4th
10 6.63 vs. 7.400.77
Free Throws Attempted per game
6th
9th
3 8.93 vs. 8.830.10

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Oscar Robertson Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
33rd
54th
21 24.67 vs. 22.212.46
Rebounds per game
38th
246th
208 10.68 vs. 6.723.96
Assists per game
+300th
5th
+295 3.16 vs. 8.945.78
Steals per game
118th
+300th
+182 1.34 vs. 0.940.40
Blocks per game
299th
+300th
+1 0.70 vs. 0.250.45
Offensive Rebounds per game
98th
+300th
+202 2.60 vs. 0.941.66
Defensive Rebounds per game
18th
+300th
+282 8.08 vs. 2.445.65
Field Goals Made per game
33rd
73rd
40 9.03 vs. 7.851.18
Field Goals Attempted per game
37th
78th
41 19.52 vs. 17.052.48
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
n/a
0.03 vs. 0.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
n/a
0.19 vs. 0.00
Free Throws Made per game
17th
20th
3 6.58 vs. 6.510.06
Free Throws Attempted per game
14th
33rd
19 8.94 vs. 7.621.32

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.