- Charles Barkley and Karl Malone are both NBA legends
- Michael Jordan prevented Barkley and Malone from becoming champions
- The Round Mound of Rebound and The Mailman had similar NBA careers, but Malone has the edge
Charles Barkley and Karl Malone are two of the best players in NBA history. Both forwards are in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and were named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.
Barkley and Malone had a lot in common. Both stars averaged double-doubles during their careers and were forces in the paint. Barkley and Malone were teammates on the 1993 USA Olympic Team. The “Dream Team” won the gold medal, with Barkley leading the team in points per game.
While Barkley and Malone were able to win a gold medal in 1993, neither player won an NBA championship because of Michael Jordan, which is why it’s intriguing to wonder which icon had a better career since championships can’t be used in the debate.
NBA Championships
Charles Barkley: 0 (Lost 1993 Finals to Chicago Bulls)
Karl Malone: 0 (Lost 1997, 1998 Finals to Bulls, lost 2004 Finals to Detroit Pistons)
Charles Barkley guided the Phoenix Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals. The Suns had home-court advantage against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls and felt confident about their chances to win it all.
Unfortunately for Barkley and the Suns, Jordan was unstoppable in the 1993 Finals. His Airness averaged 41.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the series. Jordan scored 55 points in Game 4.
Barkley averaged 27.3 points, 13.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists against the Bulls, but it wasn’t enough, as Phoenix lost to Chicago in six games. The Bulls won all three games on the road versus the Suns. Barkley never got back to the NBA Finals during his career.
Meanwhile, Karl Malone played in three NBA Finals, two with the Utah Jazz and one with the Los Angeles Lakers. Jordan’s Bulls beat Malone’s Jazz in the 1997 and 1998 Finals. Malone averaged 23.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the 1997 Finals and 25.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the 1998 Finals.
In the summer of 2003, Malone joined the Lakers as a free agent. Los Angeles took on the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 Finals and lost the series in five games. Malone, past his prime, averaged only 5.0 points and 7.3 rebounds.
Advantage: Even
Finals MVP Awards
Charles Barkley: 0
Karl Malone: 0
Neither Charles Barkley nor Karl Malone won a Finals MVP Award since they didn’t win a championship. Barkley and Malone are considered two of the best players in NBA history to have never won a title or Finals MVP.
Michael Jordan prevented several NBA legends from winning titles during his legendary run with the Bulls during the ’90s. Barkley and Malone top that list.
Had the Suns beaten the Bulls in the 1993 Finals, Barkley would have won the Finals MVP Award. The same theory applies to Malone and the Jazz. Utah played Chicago tough in the 1997 and 1998 Finals, with Malone doing everything in his power to come out victorious. Jordan was just too good to beat when it counted the most.
Advantage: Even
MVP Awards
Charles Barkley: 1 (1993)
Karl Malone: 2 (1997, 1999)
Charles Barkley won the 1992-93 MVP Award over Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan. Sir Charles averaged 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Suns while shooting 52.0% from the field. He recorded 55 double-doubles and six triple-doubles.
Behind Barkley, the Suns won 62 games during the 1992-93 regular season. They had the best record in the NBA. However, as mentioned above, Jordan got the last laugh over Barkley by winning the 1993 championship.
As for Karl Malone, he won two MVPs with the Jazz, one in 1997 and the other in 1999. King Karl averaged 27.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 1996-97 and 23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the shortened 1998-99 lockout season.
Advantage: Karl Malone
Defensive Player Of The Year Awards
Charles Barkley: 0
Karl Malone: 0
Neither Charles Barkley nor Karl Malone won a Defensive Player of the Year Award. Both players were dominant offensive players who shined more on the offensive end than the defensive end, although Malone was an elite defender (stay tuned on that).
Barkley racked up 888 blocks in his career, while Malone blocked 1,145 shots. The former registered 1,648 steals and the latter stole the ball 2,085 times.
Barkley and Malone weren’t poor defenders. They just weren’t the best in a single season.
Advantage: Even
Scoring Titles
Charles Barkley: 0
Karl Malone: 0
Neither Charles Barkley nor Karl Malone won a scoring title. That’s mostly because Michael Jordan won 10 scoring titles during his career and Barkley and Malone just happened to play in the Jordan era.
Barkley averaged a career-high 28.3 points during the 1987-88 season with the Philadelphia 76ers. Jordan won the scoring title that season by averaging 35.0 points.
Meanwhile, Malone averaged a career-high 31.0 points in 1989-90. Guess who won the scoring title that season? It was Jordan again. MJ averaged 33.6 points that season.
Advantage: Even
All-Star Selections
Charles Barkley: 11
Karl Malone: 14
Charles Barkley was voted an All-Star 11 times. He made six All-Star teams with the Sixers, four with the Suns, and one with the Houston Rockets. Barkley didn’t play in the 1994 or 1997 All-Star Game despite being voted in.
Barkley averaged 12.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in nine All-Star Games. He won the 1991 All-Star Game MVP after putting up 17 points and 22 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Karl Malone was voted an All-Star 14 times with the Jazz. He didn’t play in the 1990 or 2002 All-Star Game. Malone averaged 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 12 All-Star Games. He won the All-Star Game MVP in 1989 and shared the award with John Stockton in 1993.
Advantage: Karl Malone
All-NBA Teams
Charles Barkley: 11 (5 First Team, 5 Second Team, 1 Third Team)
Karl Malone: 14 (11 First Team, 2 Second Team, 1 Third Team)
Charles Barkley made 11 All-NBA teams during his stellar career. He made five All-NBA First Teams, five All-NBA Second Teams, and one All-NBA Third Team.
Due to injuries, Barkley only played in 20 games during the 1999-00 season with the Rockets. He retired after that season. The Auburn product likely would have made more All-NBA teams had his body not broken down near the end of his career.
As for Karl Malone, he made 14 All-NBA teams during his iconic career. He made 11 All-NBA First Teams, two All-NBA Second Teams, and one All-NBA Third Team.
Advantage: Karl Malone
All-Defensive Teams
Charles Barkley: 0
Karl Malone: 4 (3 First Team, 1 Second Team)
Charles Barkley didn’t make any All-Defensive teams during his career. He came close in 1990-91 and 1992-93 but couldn’t quite make the second team. Barkley, though, did lead the NBA in rebounds per game during the 1986-87 season with the Sixers.
Meanwhile, Karl Malone made four All-Defensive teams in his career. He made three All-NBA Defensive First Teams and one All-NBA Defensive Second Team. Malone led the league in total defensive rebounds in 1990-91 and 1994-95.
Advantage: Karl Malone
Total Win Shares
Charles Barkley: 177.2
Karl Malone: 234.6
Win Shares is an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player. Charles Barkley finished his career with 177.2 win shares, while Malone was at 234.6.
Malone led the NBA in win shares two times (1997-98, 1998-99). Barkley’s highest win shares number was 17.3 in 1989-90, which is higher than Malone’s highest win shares number (16.7). Malone’s longevity and ability to stay healthy for his entire Jazz career helped him rack up more win shares than Barkley.
Barkley is 14th in NBA history in win shares, while Malone is fourth.
Advantage: Karl Malone
Career Player Efficiency Rating
Charles Barkley: 24.6
Karl Malone: 23.9
Player efficiency rating is a measure of per-minute production standardized such that the league average is 15. Barkley’s career PER is 24.6, while Malone’s is 23.9.
Barkley registered a career-high 28.9 PER during the 1990-91 season with the Sixers. Meanwhile, Malone led the NBA in PER during the 1996-97 season (28.9).
Barkley finished his career with averages of 22.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 36.7 minutes per game, while Malone averaged 25.0 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 37.2 minutes per game.
Advantage: Charles Barkley
Final Score
Karl Malone vs. Charles Barkley 5-1
Since neither Karl Malone nor Charles Barkley won a title in the NBA, stats and awards have to be measured heavily when debating their careers. Malone averaged more points per game than Barkley, scored more points, and collected more awards and honors.
With that said, Malone had a better NBA career than Barkley. The former made more All-NBA teams, more All-Star games, and more All-Defensive teams than the latter and won one more MVP.
Malone is also top five all-time in points, field goals and win shares, while Barkley isn’t top 10 all-time in any stat.
