Earl Monroe vs. Shaquille O'Neal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shaquille O'Neal and Earl Monroe, 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.

Earl Monroe played 13 years in the NBA, 6 less than Shaquille O'Neal, who played 19. Earl Monroe had the first of his seasons in 1967-68, 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
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1967-68	1992-93
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Earl Monroe	82	36.7	24.3	-	-	5.7	4.3	-	-	-	3.4	9.0	20.0	.453	-	-	-	6.2	7.9	.781
difference:	+1	+1.2	+0.9			+8.2	+2.4				-0.6		+3.9	+.109				+0.9	+1.0	+.189
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 Earl Monroe nor Shaquille O'Neal played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1968-69	1993-94
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Earl Monroe	80	38.4	25.8	-	-	3.5	4.9	-	-	-	3.3	10.1	23.0	.440	-	-	-	5.6	7.3	.768
difference:	+1	+1.4	+3.5			+9.7	+2.5				-0.2	+1.7	+3.4	+.159				+0.2	+3.2	+.214
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		%
Earl Monroe	4	42.8	28.3	-	-	5.3	4.0	-	-	-	2.5	11.0	28.5	.386	-	-	-	6.3	7.8	.806
difference:	+1	+0.8	+7.6			+8.0	+1.7				-1.8	+3.3	+13.5	+.125				+1.0	+3.5	+.335
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
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1969-70	1994-95
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost East Div Semis	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		%
Earl Monroe	82	37.2	23.4	-	-	3.1	4.9	-	-	-	3.1	8.5	19.0	.446	-	-	-	6.5	7.8	.830
difference:	+3	+0.2	+5.9			+8.3	+2.2				-0.2	+3.3	+1.2	+.137				+0.7	+3.0	+.297
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		%
Earl Monroe	7	42.7	28.0	-	-	3.3	4.0	-	-	-	3.3	10.6	22.0	.481	-	-	-	6.9	8.6	.800
difference:	+14	+4.4	+2.3			+8.6	+0.7				-0.7	+1.3	+5.9	+.096				+0.2	+3.8	+.229
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
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1970-71	1995-96
Team	Baltimore Bullets	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bullets Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Earl Monroe	81	35.1	21.4	-	-	2.6	4.4	-	-	-	2.7	8.2	18.5	.442	-	-	-	5.0	6.2	.802
difference:	+27	+0.9	+5.2			+8.4	+1.5				-0.9	+2.8	+0.6	+.131				+0.4	+3.3	+.315
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		%
Earl Monroe	18	37.3	22.1	-	-	3.6	4.1	-	-	-	3.1	8.1	19.8	.407	-	-	-	5.9	7.5	.793
difference:	+6	+1.0	+3.7			+6.4	+0.5				-0.2	+2.8	+1.8	+.199				+1.9	+2.7	+.400
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
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1971-72	1996-97
Team	Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost NBA 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		%
Earl Monroe	63	21.2	11.9	-	-	1.6	2.3	-	-	-	2.2	4.6	10.5	.434	-	-	-	2.8	3.6	.781
difference:	+12	+16.9	+14.3			+10.9	+0.8				-1.3	+6.2	+8.9	+.123				+1.7	+5.8	+.297
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		%
Earl Monroe	16	26.8	12.3	-	-	2.8	2.9	-	-	-	2.6	4.8	11.6	.411	-	-	-	2.8	3.6	.789
difference:	+7	+9.4	+14.6			+7.8	+0.3				-1.5	+5.1	+7.6	+.103				+4.3	+8.1	+.179
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
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1972-73	1997-98
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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		%
Earl Monroe	75	31.6	15.5	-	-	3.3	3.8	-	-	-	2.6	6.6	13.5	.488	-	-	-	2.3	2.8	.822
difference:	+15	+4.7	+12.8			+8.1	+1.4				-0.6	+4.6	+5.6	+.096				+3.7	+8.6	+.295
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		%
Earl Monroe	16	31.5	16.1	-	-	3.2	3.2	-	-	-	2.4	6.9	13.2	.526	-	-	-	2.3	3.0	.750
difference:	+3	+7.0	+14.4			+7.0	+0.3				-0.8	+5.3	+6.6	+.086				+3.9	+9.2	+.247
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
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1973-74	1998-99
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Earl Monroe	41	29.1	14.0	0.5	2.4	3.0	2.7	0.8	0.5	-	2.4	5.9	12.5	.468	-	-	-	2.3	2.8	.823
difference:	+8	+5.7	+12.3	+3.3	+4.5	+7.7	+0.4	+0.1	+1.2		-0.8	+4.5	+5.6	+.108				+3.2	+7.4	+.283
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		%
Earl Monroe	12	33.9	17.4	0.7	3.3	4.0	2.1	0.7	0.8	-	2.2	6.8	13.8	.491	-	-	-	3.9	4.6	.855
difference:	+4	+5.5	+9.2	+4.8	+2.8	+7.6	+0.2	+0.2	+2.1		-1.4	+3.1	+5.6	+.019				+3.0	+10.2	+.389
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
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1974-75	1999-00
Team	New York Knicks	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
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Knicks 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		%
Earl Monroe	78	36.1	20.9	0.7	3.5	4.2	3.5	1.4	0.4	-	2.6	8.6	18.7	.457	-	-	-	3.8	4.6	.827
difference:	+1	+3.9	+8.8	+3.6	+5.9	+9.4	+0.3	+0.9	+2.6		-0.6	+3.5	+2.4	+.117				+1.7	+5.8	+.303
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		%
Earl Monroe	3	29.7	14.0	0.3	2.7	3.0	2.0	1.3	0.7	-	2.0	4.0	15.0	.267	-	-	-	6.0	7.3	.818
difference:	+20	+13.8	+16.7	+4.9	+7.6	+12.4	+1.1	+0.7	+1.7		-0.9	+8.4	+7.0	+.299				+0.1	+5.6	+.362
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
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1975-76	2000-01
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Earl Monroe	76	38.0	20.7	0.6	3.0	3.6	4.0	1.5	0.3	-	2.8	8.5	17.8	.478	-	-	-	3.7	4.7	.787
difference:	+2	+1.5	+8.0	+3.3	+5.8	+9.1	+0.3	+0.9	+2.5		-0.7	+2.5	+1.4	+.094				+3.0	+8.4	+.274
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		%
Earl Monroe	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

Season 10
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1976-77	2001-02
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Monroe	77	34.5	19.9	0.6	2.3	2.9	4.8	1.2	0.3	-	2.6	8.0	15.4	.517	-	-	-	4.0	4.8	.839
difference:	+10	+1.6	+7.3	+2.9	+4.9	+7.8	+1.8	+0.6	+1.7		-0.4	+2.6	+2.9	+.062				+1.9	+5.9	+.284
Shaquille O'Neal	67	36.1	27.2	3.5	7.2	10.7	3.0	0.6	2.0	2.6	3.0	10.6	18.3	.579	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	10.7	.555
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Monroe	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shaquille O'Neal	19	40.8	28.5	3.5	9.1	12.6	2.8	0.5	2.5	3.3	3.3	10.7	20.2	.529	0.0	0.0	-	7.1	10.9	.649

Season 11
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1977-78	2002-03
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Knicks Lost East Conf Semis	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Monroe	76	31.2	17.8	0.6	1.8	2.4	4.8	0.8	0.3	2.4	2.5	7.3	14.8	.495	-	-	-	3.2	3.8	.832
difference:	+9	+6.6	+9.7	+3.3	+5.4	+8.7	+1.7	+0.2	+2.1	-0.5	-0.9	+3.1	+3.3	+.079				+3.5	+7.0	+.210
Shaquille O'Neal	67	37.8	27.5	3.9	7.2	11.1	3.1	0.6	2.4	2.9	3.4	10.4	18.1	.574	0.0	0.0	-	6.7	10.8	.622
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Monroe	6	24.2	9.8	0.2	0.7	0.8	2.8	1.0	0.0	1.0	2.5	4.0	10.3	.387	-	-	-	1.8	3.0	.611
difference:	+6	+15.9	+17.2	+5.1	+8.9	+14.0	+0.9	+0.4	+2.8	-1.9	-0.3	+6.1	+8.5	+.148				+5.0	+8.0	+.010
Shaquille O'Neal	12	40.1	27.0	5.3	9.6	14.8	3.7	0.6	2.8	2.9	2.8	10.1	18.8	.535	0.0	0.0	-	6.8	11.0	.621

Season 12
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1978-79	2003-04
Team	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Monroe	64	21.8	12.3	0.4	0.8	1.2	3.0	0.8	0.1	1.5	1.9	5.1	10.9	.471	-	-	-	2.0	2.4	.838
difference:	+3	+15.0	+9.2	+3.3	+7.0	+10.3	+0.1	+0.3	+2.4	-1.4	-1.5	+3.2	+3.2	+.113				+2.9	+7.7	+.348
Shaquille O'Neal	67	36.8	21.5	3.7	7.8	11.5	2.9	0.5	2.5	2.9	3.4	8.3	14.1	.584	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	10.1	.490
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Monroe	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shaquille O'Neal	22	41.9	21.5	4.1	9.1	13.2	2.5	0.3	2.8	2.5	4.1	8.3	14.0	.593	0.0	0.0	-	5.0	11.5	.429

Season 13
	Earl Monroe	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1979-80	2004-05
Team	New York Knicks	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Heat Lost East Conf Finals

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13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Monroe	51	12.4	7.4	0.3	0.4	0.7	1.3	0.4	0.1	0.5	0.9	3.2	6.9	.457	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	1.3	.875
difference:	+22	+21.7	+15.5	+3.2	+6.5	+9.7	+1.4	+0.1	+2.2	-2.3	-2.7	+5.8	+8.1	+.144				+3.7	+9.2	+.414
Shaquille O'Neal	73	34.1	22.9	3.5	6.9	10.4	2.7	0.5	2.3	2.8	3.6	9.0	15.0	.601	0.0	0.0	-	4.8	10.5	.461
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Earl Monroe	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shaquille O'Neal	13	33.0	19.4	1.5	6.4	7.8	1.9	0.4	1.5	3.2	4.0	7.8	13.9	.558	0.0	0.0	-	3.8	8.2	.472

Additional Years
* Shaquille O'Neal played 6 seasons more than Earl Monroe in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 14 to 19, from 2006 to 2011—Shaquille O'Neal played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 6 extra years over Earl Monroe, Shaquille O'Neal got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP