The Tape
Was Moses Malone better than Karl Malone?
Moses Malone, 1974-1995, against Karl Malone, 1985-2004. 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: Moses Malone at 32.6 a game in 1981-82, Karl Malone at 33 in 1989-90. The scoring argument is a tie and anyone who claims otherwise is quoting raw numbers from different leagues.
Moses Malone wins the glass by 3.6 rebounds a game (14.7 to 11.1), which in his era meant standing in traffic rather than waiting for a long one.
Moses Malone: Three MVPs built on offensive rebounds, and the man who said fo, fo, fo and nearly delivered it. Karl Malone: Second on the all-time scoring list for 19 years, on the same pick-and-roll run 30,000 times.
The numbers are free. The verdict is in the Vault.
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