The Tape
Was Karl Malone better than Joel Embiid?
Karl Malone, 1985-2004, against Joel Embiid, 2016-present. The numbers levelled to one league, then the call.
Method, stated plainly: scoring is adjusted to a league averaging 114 points per team per game. Rebounds and assists are printed as they were recorded, with the league scoring rate beside them, because a rebound in 1962 came out of a different number of missed shots and we will not pretend one multiplier fixes that. Career lines for active players run through 2024-25.
What the numbers say
Adjusted to a league averaging 114 points a game, their best seasons score the same: Karl Malone at 33 a game in 1989-90, Joel Embiid at 32.9 in 2022-23. The scoring argument is a tie and anyone who claims otherwise is quoting raw numbers from different leagues.
Away from scoring they are nearly the same player on paper: 11.1 and 10.2 rebounds, 2.8 and 4.2 assists. The separation is in what their teams asked of them, not what they could do.
Karl Malone: Second on the all-time scoring list for 19 years, on the same pick-and-roll run 30,000 times. Joel Embiid: The highest scoring average by a center since Chamberlain, attached to the shortest availability of any MVP.
The numbers are free. The verdict is in the Vault.
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