Michael Jordan vs. Karl Malone: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Michael Jordan and Karl Malone 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

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Michael Jordan, with a career spanning 15 seasons from 1985 to 2003, and Karl Malone, with 19 seasons played from 1986 to 2004, 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.

Michael Jordan vs. Karl Malone
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Michael Jordan Karl Malone Michael Jordan Karl Malone
Points
5th
3rd
2nd
8th
Rebounds
141st
7th
40th
7th
Assists
52nd
63rd
13th
45th
Steals
4th
12th
3rd
17th
Blocks
126th
74th
34th
50th
Years15191319

Michael Jordan vs. Karl Malone
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Michael Jordan Karl Malone Michael Jordan Karl Malone
Points
1st
15th
1st
33rd
Rebounds
+300th
51st
278th
38th
Assists
108th
+300th
69th
+300th
Steals
3rd
107th
11th
118th
Blocks
233rd
254th
195th
299th

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:

Michael Jordan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
5th
3rd
2 32,292 vs. 36,9284,636
Rebounds
141st
7th
134 6,672 vs. 14,9688,296
Assists
52nd
63rd
11 5,633 vs. 5,248385
Steals
4th
12th
8 2,514 vs. 2,085429
Blocks
126th
74th
52 893 vs. 1,145252
Offensive Rebounds
177th
14th
163 1,668 vs. 3,5621,894
Defensive Rebounds
93rd
2nd
91 5,004 vs. 11,4066,402
Field Goals Made
5th
3rd
2 12,192 vs. 13,5281,336
Field Goals Attempted
5th
3rd
2 24,537 vs. 26,2101,673
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
581 vs. 85496
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
1,778 vs. 3101,468
Free Throws Made
7th
1st
6 7,327 vs. 9,7872,460
Free Throws Attempted
12th
1st
11 8,772 vs. 13,1884,416

Games and Years:

Michael Jordan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
108th
7th
101 1,072 vs. 1,476404
Seasons
133rd
12th
121 15 vs. 194

Triple-Doubles:

Michael Jordan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
20th
134th
114 28 vs. 424

Rankings by Points Scored:

Michael Jordan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
2nd
29th
27 173 vs. 44129
50+ point games
2nd
29th
27 31 vs. 427
60+ point games
4th
11th
7 4 vs. 13
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Michael Jordan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
2nd
8th
6 5,987 vs. 4,7611,226
Rebounds
40th
7th
33 1,152 vs. 2,062910
Assists
13th
45th
32 1,022 vs. 610412
Steals
3rd
17th
14 376 vs. 258118
Blocks
34th
50th
16 158 vs. 13523
Offensive Rebounds
36th
10th
26 305 vs. 502197
Defensive Rebounds
32nd
4th
28 847 vs. 1,560713
Field Goals Made
3rd
7th
4 2,188 vs. 1,743445
Field Goals Attempted
3rd
6th
3 4,497 vs. 3,768729
3-Pointers Made
63rd
+300th
+237 148 vs. 6142
3-Pointers Attempted
52nd
+300th
+248 446 vs. 37409
Free Throws Made
2nd
4th
2 1,463 vs. 1,269194
Free Throws Attempted
3rd
5th
2 1,766 vs. 1,72541

Games and Years:

Michael Jordan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
19th
12th
7 179 vs. 19314
Playoffs
45th
1st
44 13 vs. 196

Triple-Doubles:

Michael Jordan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
31st
+300th
2 vs. 02

Rankings by Points Scored:

Michael Jordan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
1st
36th
35 38 vs. 434
50+ point games
1st
9th
8 8 vs. 17
60+ point games
1st
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Michael Jordan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
1st
15th
14 30.12 vs. 25.025.10
Rebounds per game
+300th
51st
+249 6.22 vs. 10.143.92
Assists per game
108th
+300th
+192 5.25 vs. 3.561.70
Steals per game
3rd
107th
104 2.35 vs. 1.410.93
Blocks per game
233rd
254th
21 0.83 vs. 0.780.06
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
111st
+189 1.56 vs. 2.410.86
Defensive Rebounds per game
186th
20th
166 4.67 vs. 7.733.06
Field Goals Made per game
2nd
16th
14 11.37 vs. 9.172.21
Field Goals Attempted per game
2nd
36th
34 22.89 vs. 17.765.13
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.54 vs. 0.060.48
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
1.66 vs. 0.211.45
Free Throws Made per game
10th
14th
4 6.83 vs. 6.630.20
Free Throws Attempted per game
19th
6th
13 8.18 vs. 8.930.75

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Michael Jordan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
1st
33rd
32 33.45 vs. 24.678.78
Rebounds per game
278th
38th
240 6.44 vs. 10.684.25
Assists per game
69th
+300th
+231 5.71 vs. 3.162.55
Steals per game
11th
118th
107 2.10 vs. 1.340.76
Blocks per game
195th
299th
104 0.88 vs. 0.700.18
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
98th
+202 1.70 vs. 2.600.90
Defensive Rebounds per game
184th
18th
166 4.73 vs. 8.083.35
Field Goals Made per game
1st
33rd
32 12.22 vs. 9.033.19
Field Goals Attempted per game
2nd
37th
35 25.12 vs. 19.525.60
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.83 vs. 0.030.80
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
2.49 vs. 0.192.30
Free Throws Made per game
3rd
17th
14 8.17 vs. 6.581.60
Free Throws Attempted per game
8th
14th
6 9.87 vs. 8.940.93

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.