LeBron James vs. Hakeem Olajuwon: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare LeBron James and Hakeem Olajuwon 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 LeBron James, with a career spanning 23 seasons from 2004 to 2026, and Hakeem Olajuwon, with 18 seasons played from 1985 to 2002, 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.

LeBron James vs. Hakeem Olajuwon
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon
Points
1st
14th
1st
16th
Rebounds
25th
14th
4th
13th
Assists
4th
232nd
2nd
73rd
Steals
6th
10th
1st
21st
Blocks
71st
1st
9th
3rd
Years23181815

LeBron James vs. Hakeem Olajuwon
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon
Points
8th
46th
6th
22nd
Rebounds
190th
27th
103rd
27th
Assists
25th
+300th
25th
+300th
Steals
82nd
35th
37th
37th
Blocks
270th
3rd
164th
1st

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:

LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
1st
14th
13 42,316 vs. 26,94615,370
Rebounds
25th
14th
11 11,779 vs. 13,7481,969
Assists
4th
232nd
228 11,645 vs. 3,0588,587
Steals
6th
10th
4 2,350 vs. 2,162188
Blocks
71st
1st
70 1,155 vs. 3,8302,675
Offensive Rebounds
146th
9th
137 1,805 vs. 4,0342,229
Defensive Rebounds
7th
8th
1 9,974 vs. 9,714260
Field Goals Made
2nd
10th
8 15,540 vs. 10,7494,791
Field Goals Attempted
1st
17th
16 30,694 vs. 20,9919,703
3-Pointers Made
6th
+300th
+294 2,570 vs. 252,545
3-Pointers Attempted
5th
+300th
+295 7,358 vs. 1247,234
Free Throws Made
2nd
29th
27 8,666 vs. 5,4233,243
Free Throws Attempted
3rd
28th
25 11,763 vs. 7,6214,142

Games and Years:

LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
2nd
39th
37 1,570 vs. 1,238332
Seasons
1st
29th
28 23 vs. 185

Triple-Doubles:

LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
5th
50th
45 122 vs. 14108

Rankings by Points Scored:

LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
6th
39th
33 79 vs. 3247
50+ point games
8th
49th
41 14 vs. 212
60+ point games
11th
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
1st
16th
15 8,289 vs. 3,7554,534
Rebounds
4th
13th
9 2,628 vs. 1,6211,007
Assists
2nd
73rd
71 2,095 vs. 4581,637
Steals
1st
21st
20 493 vs. 245248
Blocks
9th
3rd
6 284 vs. 472188
Offensive Rebounds
15th
11th
4 442 vs. 47129
Defensive Rebounds
1st
13th
12 2,186 vs. 1,1501,036
Field Goals Made
1st
11th
10 2,971 vs. 1,5041,467
Field Goals Attempted
1st
17th
16 5,984 vs. 2,8473,137
3-Pointers Made
3rd
+300th
+297 480 vs. 4476
3-Pointers Attempted
2nd
+300th
+298 1,443 vs. 181,425
Free Throws Made
1st
26th
25 1,867 vs. 7431,124
Free Throws Attempted
1st
21st
20 2,519 vs. 1,0341,485

Games and Years:

LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
1st
54th
53 292 vs. 145147
Playoffs
3rd
17th
14 18 vs. 153

Triple-Doubles:

LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
2nd
38th
36 28 vs. 127

Rankings by Points Scored:

LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
2nd
9th
7 29 vs. 1118
50+ point games
9th
-
1 vs. 01
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
8th
46th
38 26.95 vs. 21.775.19
Rebounds per game
190th
27th
163 7.50 vs. 11.113.60
Assists per game
25th
+300th
+275 7.42 vs. 2.474.95
Steals per game
82nd
35th
47 1.50 vs. 1.750.25
Blocks per game
270th
3rd
267 0.74 vs. 3.092.36
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
16th
+284 1.15 vs. 3.262.11
Defensive Rebounds per game
64th
17th
47 6.35 vs. 7.851.49
Field Goals Made per game
6th
29th
23 9.90 vs. 8.681.22
Field Goals Attempted per game
14th
51st
37 19.55 vs. 16.962.59
3-Pointers Made per game
133rd
+300th
+167 1.64 vs. 0.021.62
3-Pointers Attempted per game
77th
+300th
+223 4.69 vs. 0.104.59
Free Throws Made per game
35th
93rd
58 5.52 vs. 4.381.14
Free Throws Attempted per game
27th
66th
39 7.49 vs. 6.161.34

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

LeBron James Hakeem Olajuwon Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
6th
22nd
16 28.39 vs. 25.902.49
Rebounds per game
103rd
27th
76 9.00 vs. 11.182.18
Assists per game
25th
+300th
+275 7.17 vs. 3.164.02
Steals per game
37th
37th
0 1.69 vs. 1.690.00
Blocks per game
164th
1st
163 0.97 vs. 3.262.28
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
25th
+275 1.51 vs. 3.251.73
Defensive Rebounds per game
30th
22nd
8 7.49 vs. 7.930.44
Field Goals Made per game
10th
8th
2 10.17 vs. 10.370.20
Field Goals Attempted per game
19th
34th
15 20.49 vs. 19.630.86
3-Pointers Made per game
120th
+300th
+180 1.64 vs. 0.031.62
3-Pointers Attempted per game
95th
+300th
+205 4.94 vs. 0.124.82
Free Throws Made per game
22nd
73rd
51 6.39 vs. 5.121.27
Free Throws Attempted per game
17th
46th
29 8.63 vs. 7.131.50

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, this is 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 a minimum of 3 games is applied here for the Playoffs.