Karl Malone vs. Steve Nash: NBA Rankings Comparison
The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Karl Malone and Steve Nash all-time NBA rankings. Explore their historical standing across total and per-game stats, regular season and playoffs. Who ranks higher?
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
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 Steve Nash, with 18 seasons played from 1997 to 2014, 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. Steve Nash | ||||
Career Totals |
Season | Playoffs | ||
Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | |
Points | 3rd | 96th | 8th | 64th |
Rebounds | 7th | +300th | 7th | 245th |
Assists | 63rd | 5th | 45th | 10th |
Steals | 12th | 242nd | 17th | 222nd |
Blocks | 74th | +300th | 50th | +300th |
Years | 19 | 18 | 19 | 12 |
Karl Malone vs. Steve Nash | ||||
Career Per Game |
Season | Playoffs | ||
Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | |
Points | 15th | +300th | 33rd | 171st |
Rebounds | 51st | +300th | 38th | +300th |
Assists | +300th | 11th | +300th | 8th |
Steals | 107th | +300th | 118th | +300th |
Blocks | 254th | +300th | 299th | +300th |
Comparisons on this page: |
Their rankings for: |
Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points | 3rd | 96th | 93 | 36,928 vs. 17,387 | 19,541 |
Rebounds | 7th | +300th | +293 | 14,968 vs. 3,642 | 11,326 |
Assists | 63rd | 5th | 58 | 5,248 vs. 10,335 | 5,087 |
Steals | 12th | 242nd | 230 | 2,085 vs. 899 | 1,186 |
Blocks | 74th | +300th | +226 | 1,145 vs. 102 | 1,043 |
Offensive Rebounds | 14th | +300th | +286 | 3,562 vs. 643 | 2,919 |
Defensive Rebounds | 2nd | +300th | +298 | 11,406 vs. 2,999 | 8,407 |
Field Goals Made | 3rd | 110th | 107 | 13,528 vs. 6,321 | 7,207 |
Field Goals Attempted | 3rd | 132nd | 129 | 26,210 vs. 12,892 | 13,318 |
3-Pointers Made | +300th | 37th | +263 | 85 vs. 1,685 | 1,600 |
3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | 59th | +241 | 310 vs. 3,939 | 3,629 |
Free Throws Made | 1st | 170th | 169 | 9,787 vs. 3,060 | 6,727 |
Free Throws Attempted | 1st | 244th | 243 | 13,188 vs. 3,384 | 9,804 |
Games and Years: | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Games Played | 7th | 43rd | 36 | 1,476 vs. 1,217 | 259 |
Seasons | 12th | 27th | 15 | 19 vs. 18 | 1 |
Triple-Doubles: | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Triple-Doubles | 134th | 160th | 26 | 4 vs. 3 | 1 |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
40+ point games | 29th | 276th | 247 | 44 vs. 2 | 42 |
50+ point games | 29th | - | 4 vs. 0 | 4 | |
60+ point games | 11th | - | 1 vs. 0 | 1 | |
70+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 |
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points | 8th | 64th | 56 | 4,761 vs. 2,072 | 2,689 |
Rebounds | 7th | 245th | 238 | 2,062 vs. 422 | 1,640 |
Assists | 45th | 10th | 35 | 610 vs. 1,061 | 451 |
Steals | 17th | 222nd | 205 | 258 vs. 66 | 192 |
Blocks | 50th | +300th | +250 | 135 vs. 14 | 121 |
Offensive Rebounds | 10th | +300th | +290 | 502 vs. 68 | 434 |
Defensive Rebounds | 4th | 163rd | 159 | 1,560 vs. 354 | 1,206 |
Field Goals Made | 7th | 68th | 61 | 1,743 vs. 749 | 994 |
Field Goals Attempted | 6th | 74th | 68 | 3,768 vs. 1,584 | 2,184 |
3-Pointers Made | +300th | 42nd | +258 | 6 vs. 178 | 172 |
3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | 55th | +245 | 37 vs. 438 | 401 |
Free Throws Made | 4th | 83rd | 79 | 1,269 vs. 396 | 873 |
Free Throws Attempted | 5th | 119th | 114 | 1,725 vs. 440 | 1,285 |
Games and Years: | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Games Played | 12th | 105th | 93 | 193 vs. 120 | 73 |
Playoffs | 1st | 76th | 75 | 19 vs. 12 | 7 |
Triple-Doubles: | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Triple-Doubles | +300th | 39th | 0 vs. 1 | 1 | |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
40+ point games | 36th | 78th | 42 | 4 vs. 1 | 3 |
50+ point games | 9th | - | 1 vs. 0 | 1 | |
60+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points per game | 15th | +300th | +285 | 25.02 vs. 14.29 | 10.73 |
Rebounds per game | 51st | +300th | +249 | 10.14 vs. 2.99 | 7.15 |
Assists per game | +300th | 11th | +289 | 3.56 vs. 8.49 | 4.94 |
Steals per game | 107th | +300th | +193 | 1.41 vs. 0.74 | 0.67 |
Blocks per game | 254th | +300th | +46 | 0.78 vs. 0.08 | 0.69 |
Offensive Rebounds per game | 111st | +300th | +189 | 2.41 vs. 0.53 | 1.88 |
Defensive Rebounds per game | 20th | +300th | +280 | 7.73 vs. 2.46 | 5.26 |
Field Goals Made per game | 16th | +300th | +284 | 9.17 vs. 5.19 | 3.97 |
Field Goals Attempted per game | 36th | +300th | +264 | 17.76 vs. 10.59 | 7.16 |
3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | 230th | +70 | 0.06 vs. 1.38 | 1.33 |
3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | 227th | +73 | 0.21 vs. 3.24 | 3.03 |
Free Throws Made per game | 14th | +300th | +286 | 6.63 vs. 2.51 | 4.12 |
Free Throws Attempted per game | 6th | +300th | +294 | 8.93 vs. 2.78 | 6.15 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Karl Malone | Steve Nash | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points per game | 33rd | 171st | 138 | 24.67 vs. 17.27 | 7.40 |
Rebounds per game | 38th | +300th | +262 | 10.68 vs. 3.52 | 7.17 |
Assists per game | +300th | 8th | +292 | 3.16 vs. 8.84 | 5.68 |
Steals per game | 118th | +300th | +182 | 1.34 vs. 0.55 | 0.79 |
Blocks per game | 299th | +300th | +1 | 0.70 vs. 0.12 | 0.58 |
Offensive Rebounds per game | 98th | +300th | +202 | 2.60 vs. 0.57 | 2.03 |
Defensive Rebounds per game | 18th | +300th | +282 | 8.08 vs. 2.95 | 5.13 |
Field Goals Made per game | 33rd | 185th | 152 | 9.03 vs. 6.24 | 2.79 |
Field Goals Attempted per game | 37th | 228th | 191 | 19.52 vs. 13.20 | 6.32 |
3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | 166th | +134 | 0.03 vs. 1.48 | 1.45 |
3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | 194th | +106 | 0.19 vs. 3.65 | 3.46 |
Free Throws Made per game | 17th | 268th | 251 | 6.58 vs. 3.30 | 3.28 |
Free Throws Attempted per game | 14th | +300th | +286 | 8.94 vs. 3.67 | 5.27 |
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.