Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs Michael Jordan

4of 9 lines

5of 9 lines

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan compared on their NBA careers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 14 seasons, 1975-76 to 1988-89, Michael Jordan 15 seasons, 1984-85 to 2002-03. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 24.6 points a game to Michael Jordan's 30.1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won 5 titles, Michael Jordan won 6 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Michael Jordan leads in 5 of the 9 lines, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 4. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan career per game

1,560	GP	1,072
36.8	MIN	38.3
24.6	PTS	30.1, better
7.9, better	REB	6.2
3.6	AST	5.3, better
0.7	STL	2.3, better
2, better	BLK	0.8
55.9, better	FG%	49.7
5.6	3P%	32.7, better
72.1	FT%	83.5, better
59.2, better	TS%	56.9

Career totals

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan career totals

38,387, better	PTS	32,292
12,369, better	REB	6,672
5,660, better	AST	5,633
1,160	STL	2,514, better
3,189, better	BLK	893
55.9, better	FG%	49.7
5.6	3P%	32.7, better
72.1	FT%	83.5, better
59.2, better	TS%	56.9

How do they compare in the playoffs?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan postseason

237	GP	179
37.3	MIN	41.8
24.3	PTS	33.4, better
7.5, better	REB	6.4
3.2	AST	5.7, better
0.8	STL	2.1, better
2, better	BLK	0.9
53.3, better	FG%	48.7
0	3P%	33.2, better
74	FT%	82.8, better
57.1, better	TS%	56.8

Where each stands all time

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan all-time places

2nd (38,387), better	Points	6th (32,292)
12th (12,369), better	Rebounds	116th (6,672)
49th (5,660), better	Assists	51st (5,633)
105th (1,160)	Steals	4th (2,514), better
3rd (3,189), better	Blocks	119th (893)

Among the NBA players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan titles and awards

5	Championships	6, better
5	MVP	5
9	All-NBA First Team	10, better
5	All-Defensive First Team	9, better
3, better	All-Defensive Second Team	—
4, better	All-NBA Second Team	1
1	Finals MVP	6, better
—	Rookie of the Year	1, better
—	All-Rookie First Team	1, better
—	All-Star MVP	3, better
—	Defensive Player of the Year	1, better

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan season by season

1st	1975-76	27.7	16.9, better	5.0	1984-85	28.2, better	6.5	5.9, better
2nd	1976-77	26.2, better	13.3, better	3.9, better	1985-86	22.7	3.6	2.9
3rd	1977-78	25.8	12.9, better	4.3	1986-87	37.1, better	5.2	4.6, better
4th	1978-79	23.8	12.8, better	5.4	1987-88	35.0, better	5.5	5.9, better
5th	1979-80	24.8	10.8, better	4.5	1988-89	32.5, better	8.0	8.0, better
6th	1980-81	26.2	10.3, better	3.4	1989-90	33.6, better	6.9	6.3, better
7th	1981-82	23.9	8.7, better	3.0	1990-91	31.5, better	6.0	5.5, better
8th	1982-83	21.8	7.5, better	2.5	1991-92	30.1, better	6.4	6.1, better
9th	1983-84	21.5	7.3, better	2.6	1992-93	32.6, better	6.7	5.5, better
10th	1984-85	22.0	7.9, better	3.2	1994-95	26.9, better	6.9	5.3, better
11th	1985-86	23.4	6.1	3.5	1995-96	30.4, better	6.6, better	4.3, better
12th	1986-87	17.5	6.7, better	2.6	1996-97	29.6, better	5.9	4.3, better
13th	1987-88	14.6	6.0, better	1.7	1997-98	28.7, better	5.8	3.5, better
14th	1988-89	10.1	4.5	1.0	2001-02	22.9, better	5.7, better	5.2, better
15th	—	—	—	—	2002-03	20.0	6.1	3.8

What the columns mean: PTS · REB · AST