Karl Malone vs LeBron James
Karl Malone leads 6 of 8 career categories against LeBron James, including scoring (25.0 PPG) and rebounding (10.1 RPG). The two never shared an NBA floor — Karl Malone's last season was 2003-04, and LeBron James debuted in 2025-26.
The case for Karl Malone: scoring (25.0 PPG), rebounding (10.1 RPG), per-minute impact (23.9 PER), and 3 more.
The case for LeBron James: playmaking (7.2 APG), shooting efficiency (59.4% TS%).
PPG
25.020.9
RPG
10.16.1
APG
3.67.2
TS%
57.7%59.4%
PER
23.920.8
Win Shares
232.35.5
games played
147660
MVPs / All-Star nods
2 MVP · 14 All-NBA · 14 AS—
Per Game
| Karl Malone | LeBron James | |
|---|---|---|
| G | 1476 | 60 |
| MIN | 37.2 | 33.1 |
| PTS | 25.0 | 20.9 |
| REB | 10.1 | 6.1 |
| AST | 3.6 | 7.2 |
| STL | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| BLK | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| FG% | 51.6 | 51.5 |
| 3P% | 27.4 | 31.7 |
| FT% | 74.2 | 73.7 |
Advanced
| Karl Malone | LeBron James | |
|---|---|---|
| PER | 23.9 | 20.8 |
| TS% | 57.7 | 59.4 |
| USG% | 29.5 | 27.3 |
| WS | 232.3 | 5.5 |
| WS/48 | 0.203 | 0.132 |
| BPM | 4.6 | 3.5 |
| VORP | 92.1 | 2.8 |
Accolades
| Karl Malone | LeBron James | |
|---|---|---|
| MVP | 2 | — |
| All-NBA | 14 | — |
| All-Star | 14 | — |
| All-Defensive | 4 | — |
| All-Star MVP | 2 | — |
| All-Rookie | 1 | — |
Career percentiles
Scoring9793
Efficiency8465
Playmaking8198
Rebounding9786
Defense8785
Compare Karl Malone to someone else · Compare LeBron James to someone else