Donovan Mitchell vs. Shaquille O'Neal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shaquille O'Neal and Donovan Mitchell, 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.

Donovan Mitchell played 9 years in the NBA, 10 less than Shaquille O'Neal, who played 19. Donovan Mitchell 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
	Donovan Mitchell	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2017-18	1992-93
Team	Utah Jazz	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Donovan Mitchell	79	33.4	20.5	0.7	3.1	3.7	3.7	1.5	0.3	2.7	2.7	7.5	17.2	.437	2.4	7.0	.340	3.0	3.8	.805
difference:	+2	+4.5	+2.9	+3.5	+6.5	+10.2	+1.8	+0.8	+3.2	-1.1	-1.3	+1.5	+1.1	+.125	+2.4	+7.0		+2.3	+5.1	+.213
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		%
Donovan Mitchell	11	37.4	24.4	0.8	5.1	5.9	4.2	1.5	0.4	2.9	3.2	9.3	22.1	.420	2.3	7.3	.313	3.5	3.9	.907
Shaquille O'Neal	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Donovan Mitchell	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2018-19	1993-94
Team	Utah Jazz	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Donovan Mitchell	77	33.7	23.8	0.8	3.3	4.1	4.2	1.4	0.4	2.8	2.7	8.6	19.9	.432	2.4	6.7	.362	4.1	5.1	.806
difference:	+4	+6.1	+5.5	+3.9	+5.2	+9.1	+1.8	+0.5	+2.5	-0.1	-0.8	+3.2	+0.3	+.167	+2.4	+6.7		+1.7	+5.4	+.252
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		%
Donovan Mitchell	5	38.6	21.4	1.4	3.6	5.0	3.2	1.6	0.2	4.2	3.0	7.2	22.4	.321	2.2	8.6	.256	4.8	6.6	.727
difference:	+2	+3.4	+0.7	+4.3	+4.1	+8.3	+0.9	+0.9	+2.8	-0.9	-1.3	+0.5	+7.4	+.190	+2.2	+8.6		+0.5	+4.7	+.256
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
	Donovan Mitchell	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2019-20	1994-95
Team	Utah Jazz	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Donovan Mitchell	69	34.3	24.0	0.8	3.6	4.4	4.3	1.0	0.2	2.7	2.5	8.7	19.4	.449	2.5	6.9	.366	4.0	4.7	.863
difference:	+10	+2.7	+5.3	+3.4	+3.7	+7.0	+1.6	+0.1	+2.2	-0.1	-0.8	+3.1	+0.8	+.134	+2.5	+6.8	+.366	+1.8	+6.1	+.330
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		%
Donovan Mitchell	7	37.7	36.3	0.9	4.1	5.0	4.9	1.0	0.3	4.1	1.6	11.9	22.4	.529	4.7	9.1	.516	7.9	8.3	.948
difference:	+14	+0.6	+10.6	+3.6	+3.3	+6.9	+1.6	+0.1	+1.6	-0.6	-2.4	+2.6	+6.3	+.048	+4.7	+9.1		+0.8	+4.1	+.377
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
	Donovan Mitchell	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2020-21	1995-96
Team	Utah Jazz	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis	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		%
Donovan Mitchell	53	33.4	26.4	0.9	3.5	4.4	5.2	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.2	9.0	20.6	.438	3.4	8.7	.386	5.0	6.0	.845
difference:	+1	+2.6	+0.2	+2.5	+4.2	+6.6	+2.3	+0.4	+1.8	-0.1	-1.4	+2.0	+1.5	+.135	+3.4	+8.7		+0.4	+3.5	+.358
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		%
Donovan Mitchell	10	34.6	32.3	0.3	3.9	4.2	5.5	1.1	0.2	2.8	2.0	10.5	23.5	.447	5.0	11.5	.435	6.3	7.6	.829
difference:	+2	+3.7	+6.5	+3.8	+2.0	+5.8	+0.9	+0.3	+1.1	-0.9	-1.3	+0.4	+5.5	+.159	+5.0	+11.5		+2.3	+2.6	+.436
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
	Donovan Mitchell	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2021-22	1996-97
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Donovan Mitchell	67	33.8	25.9	0.8	3.4	4.2	5.3	1.5	0.2	3.0	2.4	9.2	20.5	.448	3.5	9.8	.355	4.0	4.7	.853
difference:	+16	+4.3	+0.3	+3.0	+5.3	+8.3	+2.2	+0.6	+2.7	-0.1	-1.1	+1.6	+1.1	+.109	+3.5	+9.7	+.355	+0.5	+4.7	+.369
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		%
Donovan Mitchell	6	38.2	25.5	1.0	3.3	4.3	5.7	0.7	0.5	2.7	2.3	8.8	22.2	.398	1.7	8.0	.208	6.2	7.0	.881
difference:	+3	+2.0	+1.4	+3.2	+3.0	+6.3	+2.5	+0.1	+1.4	-0.3	-1.8	+1.1	+3.0	+.116	+1.7	+8.0		+0.9	+4.7	+.271
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
	Donovan Mitchell	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2022-23	1997-98
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Donovan Mitchell	68	35.8	28.3	0.9	3.3	4.3	4.4	1.5	0.4	2.6	2.5	10.0	20.6	.484	3.6	9.3	.386	4.7	5.4	.867
difference:	+8	+0.5		+2.6	+4.6	+7.1	+2.0	+0.8	+2.0	-0.3	-0.7	+1.2	+1.5	+.100	+3.6	+9.3		+1.3	+6.0	+.340
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		%
Donovan Mitchell	5	41.4	23.2	0.6	4.4	5.0	7.2	2.0	0.6	3.8	2.8	9.0	20.8	.433	2.6	9.0	.289	2.6	3.6	.722
difference:	+8	+2.9	+7.3	+3.1	+2.1	+5.2	+4.3	+1.5	+2.0	-0.5	-0.4	+3.2	+1.0	+.179	+2.6	+9.0		+3.6	+8.6	+.219
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
	Donovan Mitchell	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2023-24	1998-99
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Donovan Mitchell	55	35.3	26.6	0.8	4.3	5.1	6.1	1.8	0.5	2.8	2.1	9.1	19.8	.462	3.3	9.0	.368	5.0	5.8	.865
difference:	+6	+0.5	+0.3	+3.0	+2.6	+5.6	+3.8	+1.1	+1.2	-0.3	-1.1	+1.3	+1.7	+.114	+3.3	+9.0		+0.5	+4.4	+.325
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		%
Donovan Mitchell	10	38.2	29.6	0.6	4.8	5.4	4.7	1.3	0.3	2.8	2.9	10.7	22.5	.476	2.9	8.2	.354	5.3	6.5	.815
difference:	+2	+1.2	+3.0	+4.9	+1.3	+6.2	+2.4	+0.4	+2.6	-0.5	-0.7	+0.8	+3.1	+.034	+2.9	+8.2		+1.6	+8.3	+.349
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
	Donovan Mitchell	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2024-25	1999-00
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Cavaliers Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Donovan Mitchell	71	31.4	24.0	0.8	3.7	4.5	5.0	1.3	0.2	2.1	2.0	8.2	18.6	.443	3.3	8.9	.368	4.2	5.1	.823
difference:	+8	+8.6	+5.7	+3.5	+5.7	+9.1	+1.2	+0.8	+2.8	-0.7	-1.2	+3.9	+2.5	+.131	+3.3	+8.9		+1.3	+5.3	+.299
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		%
Donovan Mitchell	9	32.0	29.6	1.2	3.4	4.7	3.9	1.9	0.3	1.9	2.0	9.6	21.6	.443	3.1	9.3	.333	7.3	9.9	.742
difference:	+14	+11.5	+1.1	+4.0	+6.9	+10.7	+0.8	+1.3	+2.1	-0.5	-0.9	+2.8	+0.4	+.123	+3.1	+9.3		+1.4	+3.0	+.286
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

Season 9
	Donovan Mitchell	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2025-26	2000-01
Team	Cleveland Cavaliers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play (season in progress)	NBA Champion

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Donovan Mitchell	31	33.9	29.5	0.8	3.6	4.5	5.5	1.5	0.3	3.1	2.5	10.4	21.0	.492	3.9	10.1	.385	4.9	5.8	.850
difference:	+43	+5.6	+0.8	+3.1	+5.2	+8.2	+1.8	+0.9	+2.5	-0.2	-1.0	+0.6	+1.8	+.080	+3.9	+10.1		+1.8	+7.3	+.337
Shaquille O'Neal	74	39.5	28.7	3.9	8.8	12.7	3.7	0.6	2.8	2.9	3.5	11.0	19.2	.572	0.0	0.0	-	6.7	13.1	.513
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Donovan Mitchell	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shaquille O'Neal	16	42.3	30.4	5.7	9.8	15.4	3.2	0.4	2.4	3.6	3.4	11.9	21.5	.555	0.0	0.0	-	6.6	12.5	.525

Additional Years
* Shaquille O'Neal played 10 seasons more than Donovan Mitchell in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 19, from 2002 to 2011—Shaquille O'Neal played in 9 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 10 extra years over Donovan Mitchell, Shaquille O'Neal got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 5 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 7 All-Star Game 2 All-Star Game MVP