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?

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Filter: Career Stats - Lakers

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
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

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
Years19181912

Karl Malone vs. Steve Nash
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

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:
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 Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
96th
93 36,928 vs. 17,38719,541
Rebounds
7th
+300th
+293 14,968 vs. 3,64211,326
Assists
63rd
5th
58 5,248 vs. 10,3355,087
Steals
12th
242nd
230 2,085 vs. 8991,186
Blocks
74th
+300th
+226 1,145 vs. 1021,043
Offensive Rebounds
14th
+300th
+286 3,562 vs. 6432,919
Defensive Rebounds
2nd
+300th
+298 11,406 vs. 2,9998,407
Field Goals Made
3rd
110th
107 13,528 vs. 6,3217,207
Field Goals Attempted
3rd
132nd
129 26,210 vs. 12,89213,318
3-Pointers Made
+300th
37th
+263 85 vs. 1,6851,600
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
59th
+241 310 vs. 3,9393,629
Free Throws Made
1st
170th
169 9,787 vs. 3,0606,727
Free Throws Attempted
1st
244th
243 13,188 vs. 3,3849,804

Games and Years:

Karl Malone Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
7th
43rd
36 1,476 vs. 1,217259
Seasons
12th
27th
15 19 vs. 181

Triple-Doubles:

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

Rankings by Points Scored:

Karl Malone Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
29th
276th
247 44 vs. 242
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 Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
8th
64th
56 4,761 vs. 2,0722,689
Rebounds
7th
245th
238 2,062 vs. 4221,640
Assists
45th
10th
35 610 vs. 1,061451
Steals
17th
222nd
205 258 vs. 66192
Blocks
50th
+300th
+250 135 vs. 14121
Offensive Rebounds
10th
+300th
+290 502 vs. 68434
Defensive Rebounds
4th
163rd
159 1,560 vs. 3541,206
Field Goals Made
7th
68th
61 1,743 vs. 749994
Field Goals Attempted
6th
74th
68 3,768 vs. 1,5842,184
3-Pointers Made
+300th
42nd
+258 6 vs. 178172
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
55th
+245 37 vs. 438401
Free Throws Made
4th
83rd
79 1,269 vs. 396873
Free Throws Attempted
5th
119th
114 1,725 vs. 4401,285

Games and Years:

Karl Malone Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
12th
105th
93 193 vs. 12073
Playoffs
1st
76th
75 19 vs. 127

Triple-Doubles:

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

Rankings by Points Scored:

Karl Malone Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
36th
78th
42 4 vs. 13
50+ point games
9th
-
1 vs. 01
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
15th
+300th
+285 25.02 vs. 14.2910.73
Rebounds per game
51st
+300th
+249 10.14 vs. 2.997.15
Assists per game
+300th
11th
+289 3.56 vs. 8.494.94
Steals per game
107th
+300th
+193 1.41 vs. 0.740.67
Blocks per game
254th
+300th
+46 0.78 vs. 0.080.69
Offensive Rebounds per game
111st
+300th
+189 2.41 vs. 0.531.88
Defensive Rebounds per game
20th
+300th
+280 7.73 vs. 2.465.26
Field Goals Made per game
16th
+300th
+284 9.17 vs. 5.193.97
Field Goals Attempted per game
36th
+300th
+264 17.76 vs. 10.597.16
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
230th
+70 0.06 vs. 1.381.33
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
227th
+73 0.21 vs. 3.243.03
Free Throws Made per game
14th
+300th
+286 6.63 vs. 2.514.12
Free Throws Attempted per game
6th
+300th
+294 8.93 vs. 2.786.15

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Karl Malone Steve Nash Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
33rd
171st
138 24.67 vs. 17.277.40
Rebounds per game
38th
+300th
+262 10.68 vs. 3.527.17
Assists per game
+300th
8th
+292 3.16 vs. 8.845.68
Steals per game
118th
+300th
+182 1.34 vs. 0.550.79
Blocks per game
299th
+300th
+1 0.70 vs. 0.120.58
Offensive Rebounds per game
98th
+300th
+202 2.60 vs. 0.572.03
Defensive Rebounds per game
18th
+300th
+282 8.08 vs. 2.955.13
Field Goals Made per game
33rd
185th
152 9.03 vs. 6.242.79
Field Goals Attempted per game
37th
228th
191 19.52 vs. 13.206.32
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
166th
+134 0.03 vs. 1.481.45
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
194th
+106 0.19 vs. 3.653.46
Free Throws Made per game
17th
268th
251 6.58 vs. 3.303.28
Free Throws Attempted per game
14th
+300th
+286 8.94 vs. 3.675.27

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.