Tim Duncan vs. Karl Malone: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Tim Duncan 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 Tim Duncan, with a career spanning 19 seasons from 1998 to 2016, 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.

Tim Duncan vs. Karl Malone
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Tim Duncan Karl Malone Tim Duncan Karl Malone
Points
17th
3rd
6th
8th
Rebounds
6th
7th
3rd
7th
Assists
110th
63rd
33rd
45th
Steals
172nd
12th
48th
17th
Blocks
5th
74th
1st
50th
Years19191819

Tim Duncan vs. Karl Malone
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Tim Duncan Karl Malone Tim Duncan Karl Malone
Points
98th
15th
81st
33rd
Rebounds
33rd
51st
26th
38th
Assists
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Steals
+300th
107th
+300th
118th
Blocks
21st
254th
10th
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:

Tim Duncan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
17th
3rd
14 26,496 vs. 36,92810,432
Rebounds
6th
7th
1 15,091 vs. 14,968123
Assists
110th
63rd
47 4,225 vs. 5,2481,023
Steals
172nd
12th
160 1,025 vs. 2,0851,060
Blocks
5th
74th
69 3,020 vs. 1,1451,875
Offensive Rebounds
11th
14th
3 3,859 vs. 3,562297
Defensive Rebounds
3rd
2nd
1 11,232 vs. 11,406174
Field Goals Made
15th
3rd
12 10,285 vs. 13,5283,243
Field Goals Attempted
18th
3rd
15 20,334 vs. 26,2105,876
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
30 vs. 8555
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
168 vs. 310142
Free Throws Made
26th
1st
25 5,896 vs. 9,7873,891
Free Throws Attempted
15th
1st
14 8,468 vs. 13,1884,720

Games and Years:

Tim Duncan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
11th
7th
4 1,392 vs. 1,47684
Seasons
12th
12th
0 19 vs. 190

Triple-Doubles:

Tim Duncan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
134th
134th
0 4 vs. 40

Rankings by Points Scored:

Tim Duncan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
152nd
29th
123 5 vs. 4439
50+ point games
76th
29th
47 1 vs. 43
60+ point games
-
11th
0 vs. 11
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Tim Duncan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
6th
8th
2 5,172 vs. 4,761411
Rebounds
3rd
7th
4 2,859 vs. 2,062797
Assists
33rd
45th
12 764 vs. 610154
Steals
48th
17th
31 168 vs. 25890
Blocks
1st
50th
49 568 vs. 135433
Offensive Rebounds
2nd
10th
8 778 vs. 502276
Defensive Rebounds
2nd
4th
2 2,081 vs. 1,560521
Field Goals Made
6th
7th
1 1,975 vs. 1,743232
Field Goals Attempted
5th
6th
1 3,939 vs. 3,768171
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
5 vs. 61
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
35 vs. 372
Free Throws Made
6th
4th
2 1,217 vs. 1,26952
Free Throws Attempted
3rd
5th
2 1,766 vs. 1,72541

Games and Years:

Tim Duncan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
3rd
12th
9 251 vs. 19358
Playoffs
3rd
1st
2 18 vs. 191

Triple-Doubles:

Tim Duncan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
13th
+300th
4 vs. 04

Rankings by Points Scored:

Tim Duncan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
36th
36th
0 4 vs. 40
50+ point games
-
9th
0 vs. 11
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Tim Duncan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
98th
15th
83 19.03 vs. 25.025.98
Rebounds per game
33rd
51st
18 10.84 vs. 10.140.70
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
3.04 vs. 3.560.52
Steals per game
+300th
107th
+193 0.74 vs. 1.410.68
Blocks per game
21st
254th
233 2.17 vs. 0.781.39
Offensive Rebounds per game
53rd
111st
58 2.77 vs. 2.410.36
Defensive Rebounds per game
10th
20th
10 8.07 vs. 7.730.34
Field Goals Made per game
85th
16th
69 7.39 vs. 9.171.78
Field Goals Attempted per game
139th
36th
103 14.61 vs. 17.763.15
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 0.060.04
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.12 vs. 0.210.09
Free Throws Made per game
104th
14th
90 4.24 vs. 6.632.40
Free Throws Attempted per game
73rd
6th
67 6.08 vs. 8.932.85

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Tim Duncan Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
81st
33rd
48 20.61 vs. 24.674.06
Rebounds per game
26th
38th
12 11.39 vs. 10.680.71
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
3.04 vs. 3.160.12
Steals per game
+300th
118th
+182 0.67 vs. 1.340.67
Blocks per game
10th
299th
289 2.26 vs. 0.701.56
Offensive Rebounds per game
39th
98th
59 3.10 vs. 2.600.50
Defensive Rebounds per game
15th
18th
3 8.29 vs. 8.080.21
Field Goals Made per game
71st
33rd
38 7.87 vs. 9.031.16
Field Goals Attempted per game
118th
37th
81 15.69 vs. 19.523.83
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 0.030.01
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.14 vs. 0.190.05
Free Throws Made per game
87th
17th
70 4.85 vs. 6.581.73
Free Throws Attempted per game
51st
14th
37 7.04 vs. 8.941.90

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.