Who was the better all-around player between Moses Malone and Karl Malone?

The battle of the Malones. Always an interesting question.

It could be said that Moses is the better player all time, but Karl Malone might be better all around and more versatile.

Moses and Karl are both in the upper echelon of scorers all time. As a big man scorer, they’re probably just in a tier below Wilt, Shaq and Kareem and about similar to Dirk, Hayes, Hakeem and Robinson. However Karl has more range than Moses, Karl is a great mid range scorer – Moses did most of his damage in the paint and interior.

As a rebounder, it’s clearly Moses. Moses is a dominant rebounder who is a top 5 rebounder all time. He is the all time leader in offensive rebounds and led the league 6 times in rebounding.

As a passer, it’s clearly Karl. Karl is actually quite a solid passer for a PF. He averages 3.6 APG and some seasons over 4 APG – that’s great for a PF, especially on a team with John Stockton on it.

As a defender, they’re about even. Both are very solid defenders. Karl might have more All-Def selections but Moses was competing with other great big man defenders like McHale, Bobby Jones, Kareem, Hakeem, Ewing, Walton, Eaton, Roundfield, Sikma, Gilmore etc in his era. Both are very good rim protectors.

Of course Moses had the better career, he won a championship and a FMVP and has 3 MVPs to Karl’s 2 MVPs.

But I would say the edge goes to Karl all around because of his much better passing skills and his extended shooting range over Moses. Moses might be a better rebounder but Karl is still a very good rebounder while Moses would rarely pass the ball once he got it.