Cross-era · careers 23 years apart

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs Kawhi Leonard

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1969-1988 · Center Kawhi Leonard 2011-2025 · Forward · active

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1969-1988) and Kawhi Leonard (2011-2025) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 23 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the higher-volume scorer (24.6 points per game to 20.7); adjusted for era they scored at 2.34× and 2.03× their league average respectively; Kawhi Leonard was the more efficient scorer (67.2% true shooting to 59.2%). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the edge on accolades — 6 MVPs, 6 championships, 2 Finals MVPs and the #2 all-time ranking to Kawhi Leonard's #27.

Career averages

Kareem Abdul-JabbarStatKawhi Leonard
24.6 Points / game 20.7
11.2 Rebounds / game 6.4
3.6 Assists / game 3.1
0.7 Steals / game 1.7
2.0 Blocks / game 0.6
55.9% Field goal % 49.9%
1.7% 3-point % 38.9%
72.7% Free throw % 85.0%
59.2% True shooting % 67.2%
1,560 Games played 798

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Kareem Abdul-JabbarStatKawhi Leonard
2.34× Points vs era avg 2.03×
2.40× Rebounds vs era avg 1.55×
1.51× Assists vs era avg 1.36×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's era.

Kareem Abdul-JabbarStatKawhi Leonard
— Offensive rating 115.0
— Defensive rating 105.0
— Net rating 10.0
— Usage % 33.5%
— Assist % 21.0%
— Rebound % 11.5%

Playoff averages

Kareem Abdul-JabbarStatKawhi Leonard
24.3 Points / game 21.5
10.5 Rebounds / game 7.8
3.2 Assists / game 3.0
0.8 Steals / game 1.8
2.0 Blocks / game 0.7
53.0% Field goal % 51.3%
0.0% 3-point % 40.2%
74.2% Free throw % 80.2%
237 Playoff games 146

Accolades

Kareem Abdul-JabbarStatKawhi Leonard
6 MVP awards 0
2 Finals MVP 2
6 Championships 2
18 All-Star selections 7
10 All-NBA 1st Team 3
#2 All-time GOAT rank #27

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