Wilt Chamberlain vs. Karl Malone: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Wilt Chamberlain 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
Filter: Career Stats - Lakers

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Wilt Chamberlain, with a career spanning 14 seasons from 1960 to 1973, 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.

Wilt Chamberlain vs. Karl Malone
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone
Points
7th
3rd
21st
8th
Rebounds
1st
7th
2nd
7th
Assists
86th
63rd
38th
45th
Steals
n/a
12th
n/a
17th
Blocks
n/a
74th
n/a
50th
Years14191319

Wilt Chamberlain vs. Karl Malone
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone
Points
2nd
15th
50th
33rd
Rebounds
1st
51st
2nd
38th
Assists
180th
+300th
164th
+300th
Steals
n/a
107th
n/a
118th
Blocks
n/a
255th
n/a
299th

Steals, blocks, offensive and defensive rebounds started to be recorded in the 1973-74 season. The 3-point shot was implemented in the 1979-80 season.
n/a = The player doesn't have data for the stat.

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:

Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
7th
3rd
4 31,419 vs. 36,9285,509
Rebounds
1st
7th
6 23,924 vs. 14,9688,956
Assists
86th
63rd
23 4,643 vs. 5,248605
Steals
n/a
12th
0 vs. 2,085
Blocks
n/a
74th
0 vs. 1,145
Offensive Rebounds
n/a
14th
0 vs. 3,562
Defensive Rebounds
n/a
2nd
0 vs. 11,406
Field Goals Made
4th
3rd
1 12,681 vs. 13,528847
Field Goals Attempted
9th
3rd
6 23,497 vs. 26,2102,713
3-Pointers Made
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 85
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 310
Free Throws Made
21st
1st
20 6,057 vs. 9,7873,730
Free Throws Attempted
2nd
1st
1 11,862 vs. 13,1881,326

Games and Years:

Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
124th
7th
117 1,045 vs. 1,476431
Seasons
194th
12th
182 14 vs. 195

Triple-Doubles:

Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
9th
134th
125 78 vs. 474

Rankings by Points Scored:

Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
1st
29th
28 271 vs. 44227
50+ point games
1st
29th
28 118 vs. 4114
60+ point games
1st
11th
10 32 vs. 131
70+ point games
1st
-
6 vs. 06

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
21st
8th
13 3,607 vs. 4,7611,154
Rebounds
2nd
7th
5 3,913 vs. 2,0621,851
Assists
38th
45th
7 673 vs. 61063
Steals
n/a
17th
0 vs. 258
Blocks
n/a
50th
0 vs. 135
Offensive Rebounds
n/a
10th
0 vs. 502
Defensive Rebounds
n/a
4th
0 vs. 1,560
Field Goals Made
15th
7th
8 1,425 vs. 1,743318
Field Goals Attempted
19th
6th
13 2,728 vs. 3,7681,040
3-Pointers Made
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 6
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 37
Free Throws Made
23rd
4th
19 757 vs. 1,269512
Free Throws Attempted
6th
5th
1 1,627 vs. 1,72598

Games and Years:

Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
38th
12th
26 160 vs. 19333
Playoffs
45th
1st
44 13 vs. 196

Triple-Doubles:

Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
10th
+300th
9 vs. 09

Rankings by Points Scored:

Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
6th
36th
30 13 vs. 49
50+ point games
2nd
9th
7 4 vs. 13
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
2nd
15th
13 30.07 vs. 25.025.05
Rebounds per game
1st
51st
50 22.89 vs. 10.1412.75
Assists per game
180th
+300th
+120 4.44 vs. 3.560.89
Steals per game
n/a
107th
0.00 vs. 1.41
Blocks per game
n/a
255th
0.00 vs. 0.78
Offensive Rebounds per game
n/a
112nd
0.00 vs. 2.41
Defensive Rebounds per game
n/a
20th
0.00 vs. 7.73
Field Goals Made per game
1st
16th
15 12.13 vs. 9.172.97
Field Goals Attempted per game
3rd
36th
33 22.49 vs. 17.764.73
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.06
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.21
Free Throws Made per game
26th
14th
12 5.80 vs. 6.630.83
Free Throws Attempted per game
1st
6th
5 11.35 vs. 8.932.42

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Wilt Chamberlain Karl Malone Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
50th
33rd
17 22.54 vs. 24.672.12
Rebounds per game
2nd
38th
36 24.46 vs. 10.6813.77
Assists per game
164th
+300th
+136 4.21 vs. 3.161.05
Steals per game
n/a
118th
0.00 vs. 1.34
Blocks per game
n/a
299th
0.00 vs. 0.70
Offensive Rebounds per game
n/a
98th
0.00 vs. 2.60
Defensive Rebounds per game
n/a
18th
0.00 vs. 8.08
Field Goals Made per game
36th
33rd
3 8.91 vs. 9.030.12
Field Goals Attempted per game
78th
37th
41 17.05 vs. 19.522.47
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.03
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.19
Free Throws Made per game
95th
17th
78 4.73 vs. 6.581.84
Free Throws Attempted per game
6th
14th
8 10.17 vs. 8.941.23

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.