Bam Adebayo vs. Shaquille O'Neal Season by Season Comparison

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

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.

Bam Adebayo played 8 years in the NBA, 11 less than Shaquille O'Neal, who played 19. Bam Adebayo had the first of his seasons in 2017-18, 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.

Rookie Season
	Bam Adebayo	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2017-18	1992-93
Team	Miami Heat	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	69	19.8	6.9	1.7	3.8	5.5	1.5	0.5	0.6	1.0	2.0	2.5	4.9	.512	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	2.6	.721
difference:	+12	+18.1	+16.5	+2.5	+5.8	+8.4	+0.4	+0.2	+2.9	-2.8	-2.0	+6.5	+11.2	+.050		+0.1		+3.4	+6.3	+.129
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
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	5	15.4	3.4	1.8	2.2	4.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4	1.6	1.4	3.0	.467	0.0	0.2	.000	0.6	2.8	.214
Shaquille O'Neal	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Bam Adebayo	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2018-19	1993-94
Team	Miami Heat	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	82	23.3	8.9	2.0	5.3	7.3	2.2	0.9	0.8	1.5	2.5	3.4	5.9	.576	0.0	0.2	.200	2.0	2.8	.735
difference:	+1	+16.5	+20.4	+2.7	+3.2	+5.9	+0.2		+2.1	-1.2	-1.0	+8.4	+13.7	+.023		+0.2		+3.8	+7.7	+.181
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Bam Adebayo	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2019-20	1994-95
Team	Miami Heat	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	Magic Lost NBA Finals

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	72	33.6	15.9	2.4	7.8	10.2	5.1	1.1	1.3	2.8	2.5	6.1	11.0	.557	0.0	0.2	.143	3.7	5.3	.691
difference:	+7	+3.4	+13.4	+1.8	+0.5	+1.2	+2.4	+0.2	+1.1	-0.2	-0.8	+5.7	+9.2	+.026		+0.1	+.143	+2.1	+5.5	+.158
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	19	36.2	17.8	2.5	7.8	10.3	4.4	1.0	0.8	2.5	3.1	6.5	11.6	.564	0.0	0.1	.000	4.7	6.1	.783
difference:	+2	+2.1	+7.9	+2.0	+0.4	+1.6	+1.1	+0.1	+1.1	-1.0	-0.9	+2.8	+4.5	+.013		+0.1		+2.4	+6.3	+.212
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
	Bam Adebayo	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2020-21	1995-96
Team	Miami Heat	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Magic Lost East Conf Finals

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	64	33.5	18.7	2.2	6.7	9.0	5.4	1.2	1.0	2.6	2.3	7.1	12.5	.570	0.0	0.1	.250	4.4	5.5	.799
difference:	+10	+2.5	+7.9	+1.2	+1.0	+2.0	+2.5	+0.6	+1.1	-0.3	-1.3	+3.9	+6.6	+.003		+0.1		+0.2	+4.0	+.312
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	4	34.0	15.5	3.5	5.8	9.3	4.3	1.3	0.5	2.8	2.8	6.5	14.3	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	3.3	.769
difference:	+8	+4.3	+10.3	+0.6	+0.1	+0.7	+0.3	+0.5	+0.8	-0.9	-0.5	+4.4	+3.7	+.150				+1.5	+6.9	+.376
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
	Bam Adebayo	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2021-22	1996-97
Team	Miami Heat	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf Finals	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	56	32.6	19.1	2.4	7.6	10.1	3.4	1.4	0.8	2.6	3.1	7.3	13.0	.557	0.0	0.1	.000	4.6	6.1	.753
difference:	+5	+5.5	+7.1	+1.4	+1.1	+2.4	+0.3	+0.5	+2.1	-0.3	-0.4	+3.5	+6.4					+0.1	+3.3	+.269
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	18	34.1	14.8	2.1	5.9	8.0	2.7	1.0	0.7	2.1	3.1	5.8	9.7	.594	0.0	0.1	.000	3.2	4.2	.763
difference:	+9	+2.1	+12.1	+2.1	+0.4	+2.6	+0.5	+0.4	+1.2	-0.3	-1.0	+4.1	+9.5	+.080		+0.1		+3.9	+7.5	+.153
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
	Bam Adebayo	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2022-23	1997-98
Team	Miami Heat	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	75	34.6	20.4	2.5	6.7	9.2	3.2	1.2	0.8	2.5	2.8	8.0	14.9	.540	0.0	0.2	.083	4.3	5.4	.806
difference:	+15	+1.7	+7.9	+1.0	+1.2	+2.2	+0.8	+0.5	+1.6	-0.4	-0.4	+3.2	+4.2	+.044		+0.2		+1.7	+6.0	+.279
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	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	23	37.0	17.9	2.7	7.1	9.9	3.7	0.8	0.7	2.7	3.1	7.3	15.1	.481	0.0	0.1	.000	3.4	4.1	.821
difference:	+10	+1.5	+12.6	+1.0	+0.6	+0.3	+0.8	+0.3	+1.9	-0.6	-0.1	+4.9	+4.7	+.131		+0.1		+2.8	+8.1	+.318
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

Season 7
	Bam Adebayo	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2023-24	1998-99
Team	Miami Heat	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	71	34.0	19.3	2.2	8.1	10.4	3.9	1.1	0.9	2.3	2.2	7.5	14.3	.521	0.2	0.6	.357	4.1	5.5	.755
difference:	+22	+0.8	+7.0	+1.6	+1.2	+0.3	+1.6	+0.4	+0.8	-0.2	-1.0	+2.9	+3.8	+.055	+0.2	+0.6		+1.4	+4.7	+.215
Shaquille O'Neal	49	34.8	26.3	3.8	6.9	10.7	2.3	0.7	1.7	2.5	3.2	10.4	18.1	.576	0.0	0.0	-	5.5	10.2	.540
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	5	38.4	22.6	2.2	7.2	9.4	3.8	0.4	0.0	1.6	3.0	9.6	19.4	.495	0.4	2.0	.200	3.0	4.2	.714
difference:	+3	+1.0	+4.0	+3.3	+1.1	+2.2	+1.5	+0.5	+2.9	-0.7	-0.6	+0.3		+.015	+0.4	+2.0		+3.9	+10.6	+.248
Shaquille O'Neal	8	39.4	26.6	5.5	6.1	11.6	2.3	0.9	2.9	2.3	3.6	9.9	19.4	.510	0.0	0.0	-	6.9	14.8	.466

Season 8
	Bam Adebayo	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2024-25	1999-00
Team	Miami Heat	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	78	34.3	18.1	2.4	7.2	9.6	4.3	1.3	0.7	2.1	2.1	6.9	14.3	.485	1.0	2.8	.357	3.2	4.2	.765
difference:	+1	+5.7	+11.6	+1.9	+2.2	+4.0	+0.5	+0.8	+2.3	-0.7	-1.1	+5.2	+6.8	+.089	+1.0	+2.8		+2.3	+6.2	+.241
Shaquille O'Neal	79	40.0	29.7	4.3	9.4	13.6	3.8	0.5	3.0	2.8	3.2	12.1	21.1	.574	0.0	0.0	-	5.5	10.4	.524
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Bam Adebayo	4	38.3	17.5	4.0	7.0	11.0	4.3	1.0	0.3	3.0	2.3	7.0	16.0	.438	1.8	5.3	.333	1.8	2.8	.636
difference:	+19	+5.2	+13.2	+1.2	+3.3	+4.4	+1.2	+0.4	+2.1	-0.6	-0.6	+5.4	+6.0	+.128	+1.8	+5.3		+4.1	+10.1	+.180
Shaquille O'Neal	23	43.5	30.7	5.2	10.3	15.4	3.1	0.6	2.4	2.4	2.9	12.4	22.0	.566	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	12.9	.456

Additional Years
* Shaquille O'Neal played 11 seasons more than Bam Adebayo in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 19, from 2001 to 2011—Shaquille O'Neal played in 10 Playoffs and won 3 NBA Championships. In those 11 extra years over Bam Adebayo, Shaquille O'Neal got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 Finals MVP 6 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 8 All-Star Game 2 All-Star Game MVP