Anthony Edwards vs. Shaquille O'Neal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shaquille O'Neal and Anthony Edwards, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Anthony Edwards played 6 years in the NBA, 13 less than Shaquille O'Neal, who played 19. Anthony Edwards had the first of his seasons in 2020-21, while Shaquille O'Neal had his rookie season in 1992-93. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers

Player		 Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Anthony Edwards 6 4 2020-21 to 2025-26
Shaquille O'Neal 19 17 1992-93 to 2010-11

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6

Rookie Season
Anthony Edwards Shaquille O'Neal
Season 2020-211992-93
Team Minnesota TimberwolvesOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards -Achievement Rookie of the Year
Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did not playDid not play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards 72 32.1 19.3 0.8 3.8 4.7 2.9 1.1 0.5 2.2 1.8 7.0 16.8 .417 2.4 7.2 .329 2.9 3.8 .776
difference:+9+5.8+4.1+3.4+5.8+9.2+1.0+0.4+3.0-1.6-2.2+2.0+0.7+.145+2.4+7.2+2.4+5.1+.184
Shaquille O'Neal 81 37.9 23.4 4.2 9.6 13.9 1.9 0.7 3.5 3.8 4.0 9.0 16.1 .562 0.0 0.0 - 5.3 8.9 .592
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Anthony Edwards nor Shaquille O'Neal played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
Anthony Edwards Shaquille O'Neal
Season 2021-221993-94
Team Minnesota TimberwolvesOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st RdMagic Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards 72 34.3 21.3 0.9 3.9 4.8 3.8 1.5 0.6 2.6 2.3 7.6 17.3 .441 3.0 8.4 .357 3.1 3.9 .786
difference:+9+5.5+8.0+3.8+4.6+8.4+1.4+0.6+2.3-0.1-1.2+4.2+2.3+.158+3.0+8.4+2.7+6.6+.232
Shaquille O'Neal 81 39.8 29.3 4.7 8.5 13.2 2.4 0.9 2.9 2.7 3.5 11.8 19.6 .599 0.0 0.0 - 5.8 10.5 .554
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards 6 37.8 25.2 0.7 3.5 4.2 3.0 1.2 1.2 2.5 3.7 8.3 18.3 .455 3.8 9.5 .404 4.7 5.7 .824
difference:+3+4.2+4.5+5.0+4.2+9.1+0.7+0.5+1.8-0.8-0.6+0.6+3.3+.056+3.8+9.5+0.6+5.6+.353
Shaquille O'Neal 3 42.0 20.7 5.7 7.7 13.3 2.3 0.7 3.0 3.3 4.3 7.7 15.0 .511 0.0 0.0 - 5.3 11.3 .471

Season 3
Anthony Edwards Shaquille O'Neal
Season 2022-231994-95
Team Minnesota TimberwolvesOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement Scoring Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st RdMagic Lost NBA Finals
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards 79 36.0 24.6 0.6 5.2 5.8 4.4 1.6 0.7 3.3 2.4 8.9 19.5 .459 2.7 7.3 .369 4.0 5.3 .756
difference:+1.0+4.7+3.6+2.1+5.6+1.7+0.7+1.7-0.7-0.9+2.9+0.7+.124+2.7+7.2+.369+1.8+5.5+.223
Shaquille O'Neal 79 37.0 29.3 4.2 7.3 11.4 2.7 0.9 2.4 2.6 3.3 11.8 20.2 .583 0.0 0.1 .000 5.8 10.8 .533
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards 5 39.8 31.6 0.6 4.4 5.0 5.2 1.8 2.0 1.6 2.6 11.0 22.8 .482 3.0 8.6 .349 6.6 7.8 .846
difference:+16+1.5+5.9+3.9+3.0+6.9+1.9+0.9+0.1-1.9-1.4+1.7+6.7+.095+3.0+8.6+0.5+4.6+.275
Shaquille O'Neal 21 38.3 25.7 4.5 7.4 11.9 3.3 0.9 1.9 3.5 4.0 9.3 16.1 .577 0.0 0.0 - 7.1 12.4 .571

Season 4
Anthony Edwards Shaquille O'Neal
Season 2023-241995-96
Team Minnesota TimberwolvesOrlando Magic
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Timberwolves Lost West Conf FinalsMagic Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards 79 35.1 25.9 0.7 4.8 5.4 5.1 1.3 0.5 3.1 1.8 9.1 19.7 .461 2.4 6.7 .357 5.4 6.4 .836
difference:+25+0.9+0.7+2.7+2.9+5.6+2.2+0.7+1.6-0.2-1.8+1.9+0.6+.112+2.4+6.7+0.8+3.1+.349
Shaquille O'Neal 54 36.0 26.6 3.4 7.7 11.0 2.9 0.6 2.1 2.9 3.6 11.0 19.1 .573 0.0 0.0 - 4.6 9.5 .487
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards 16 40.6 27.6 1.1 5.9 7.0 6.5 1.5 0.6 3.3 2.3 9.8 20.3 .481 2.9 7.2 .400 5.2 6.4 .814
difference:+4+2.3+1.8+3.0+3.0+1.9+0.7+0.7-0.4-1.0+1.1+2.3+.125+2.9+7.2+1.2+3.8+.421
Shaquille O'Neal 12 38.3 25.8 4.1 5.9 10.0 4.6 0.8 1.3 3.7 3.3 10.9 18.0 .606 0.0 0.0 - 4.0 10.2 .393

Season 5
Anthony Edwards Shaquille O'Neal
Season 2024-251996-97
Team Minnesota TimberwolvesLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Timberwolves Lost West Conf FinalsLakers Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards 79 36.3 27.6 0.8 4.9 5.7 4.5 1.2 0.6 3.2 1.9 9.1 20.4 .447 4.1 10.3 .395 5.3 6.3 .837
difference:+28+1.8+1.4+3.0+3.8+6.8+1.4+0.3+2.3-0.3-1.6+1.7+1.0+.110+4.1+10.2+.395+0.8+3.1+.353
Shaquille O'Neal 51 38.1 26.2 3.8 8.7 12.5 3.1 0.9 2.9 2.9 3.5 10.8 19.4 .557 0.0 0.1 .000 4.5 9.4 .484
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards 15 39.0 25.3 1.2 6.6 7.8 5.5 1.1 0.7 2.6 2.1 9.0 19.9 .453 3.1 8.7 .354 4.3 5.9 .719
difference:+6+2.8+1.6+3.0+0.3+2.8+2.3+0.5+1.2-0.2-2.0+0.9+0.7+.061+3.1+8.7+2.8+5.8+.109
Shaquille O'Neal 9 36.2 26.9 4.2 6.3 10.6 3.2 0.6 1.9 2.4 4.1 9.9 19.2 .514 0.0 0.0 - 7.1 11.7 .610

Season 6
Anthony Edwards Shaquille O'Neal
Season 2025-261997-98
Team Minnesota TimberwolvesLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did not play
(season in progress)		Lakers Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards 26 35.0 29.1 0.7 4.3 5.0 3.7 1.4 0.8 2.8 1.9 9.9 19.9 .497 3.3 8.2 .397 6.0 7.5 .809
difference:+34+1.3+0.8+2.8+3.6+6.4+1.3+0.7+1.6-0.1-1.3+1.3+0.8+.087+3.3+8.2+3.9+.282
Shaquille O'Neal 60 36.3 28.3 3.5 7.9 11.4 2.4 0.7 2.4 2.9 3.2 11.2 19.1 .584 0.0 0.0 - 6.0 11.4 .527
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Anthony Edwards DNP------ --- ----------
Shaquille O'Neal 13 38.5 30.5 3.7 6.5 10.2 2.9 0.5 2.6 3.3 3.2 12.2 19.8 .612 0.0 0.0 - 6.2 12.2 .503

Additional Years

* Shaquille O'Neal played 13 seasons more than Anthony Edwards in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 7 to 19, from 1999 to 2011—Shaquille O'Neal played in 12 Playoffs and won 4 NBA Championships.

In those 13 extra years over Anthony Edwards, Shaquille O'Neal got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 3 Finals MVP
Achievement 1 Season MVP
Achievement 7 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 3 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 1 Scoring Leader
Achievement 9 All-Star Game
Achievement 3 All-Star Game MVP
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