Jeremy Lin vs. Shaquille O'Neal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shaquille O'Neal and Jeremy Lin, 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.

Jeremy Lin played 9 years in the NBA, 10 less than Shaquille O'Neal, who played 19. Jeremy Lin had the first of his seasons in 2010-11, 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
	Jeremy Lin	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2010-11	1992-93
Team	Golden State Warriors	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	29	9.8	2.6	0.4	0.8	1.2	1.4	1.1	0.3	0.6	1.1	1.0	2.5	.389	0.0	0.2	.200	0.7	0.9	.760
difference:	+52	+28.1	+20.8	+3.8	+8.8	+12.7	+0.5	+0.4	+3.2	-3.2	-2.9	+8.0	+13.6	+.173		+0.2		+4.6	+8.0	+.168
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 Jeremy Lin nor Shaquille O'Neal played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Jeremy Lin	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2011-12	1993-94
Team	New York Knicks	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	35	26.9	14.6	0.5	2.5	3.1	6.2	1.6	0.3	3.6	2.2	4.9	10.9	.446	0.7	2.1	.320	4.2	5.2	.798
difference:	+46	+12.9	+14.7	+4.2	+6.0	+10.1	+3.8	+0.7	+2.6	-0.9	-1.3	+6.9	+8.7	+.153	+0.7	+2.1		+1.6	+5.3	+.244
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		%
Jeremy Lin	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
	Jeremy Lin	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2012-13	1994-95
Team	Houston Rockets	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Magic Lost NBA Finals

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	82	32.2	13.4	0.4	2.6	3.0	6.1	1.6	0.4	2.9	2.5	4.8	10.9	.441	1.1	3.1	.339	2.6	3.4	.785
difference:	+3	+4.8	+15.9	+3.8	+4.7	+8.4	+3.4	+0.7	+2.0	-0.3	-0.8	+7.0	+9.3	+.142	+1.1	+3.0	+.339	+3.2	+7.4	+.252
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		%
Jeremy Lin	4	21.0	4.0	0.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	0.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	1.5	6.0	.250	0.5	3.0	.167	0.5	0.5	1.000
difference:	+17	+17.3	+21.7	+4.5	+5.4	+9.9	+1.3	+0.4	+1.6	-1.5	-1.7	+7.8	+10.1	+.327	+0.5	+3.0		+6.6	+11.9	+.429
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
	Jeremy Lin	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2013-14	1995-96
Team	Houston Rockets	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Magic Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	71	28.9	12.5	0.5	2.2	2.6	4.1	1.0	0.4	2.5	2.3	4.2	9.3	.446	1.2	3.2	.358	3.1	3.7	.823
difference:	+17	+7.1	+14.1	+2.9	+5.5	+8.4	+1.2	+0.4	+1.7	-0.4	-1.3	+6.8	+9.8	+.127	+1.2	+3.2		+1.5	+5.8	+.336
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		%
Jeremy Lin	6	29.5	11.3	1.2	2.5	3.7	4.3	0.5	0.2	2.2	2.5	4.2	10.2	.410	0.8	3.8	.217	2.2	2.7	.813
difference:	+6	+8.8	+14.5	+2.9	+3.4	+6.3	+0.3	+0.3	+1.1	-1.5	-0.8	+6.7	+7.8	+.196	+0.8	+3.8		+1.8	+7.5	+.420
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
	Jeremy Lin	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2014-15	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	74	25.8	11.2	0.4	2.3	2.6	4.6	1.1	0.4	2.2	2.6	3.7	8.8	.424	0.9	2.4	.369	2.9	3.6	.795
difference:	+23	+12.3	+15.0	+3.4	+6.4	+9.9	+1.5	+0.2	+2.5	-0.7	-0.9	+7.1	+10.6	+.133	+0.9	+2.3	+.369	+1.6	+5.8	+.311
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		%
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jeremy Lin	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2015-16	1997-98
Team	Charlotte Hornets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Hornets Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	78	26.3	11.7	0.5	2.7	3.2	3.0	0.7	0.5	1.9	2.1	3.8	9.3	.412	1.0	2.9	.336	3.1	3.7	.815
difference:	+18	+10.0	+16.6	+3.0	+5.2	+8.2	+0.6		+1.9	-1.0	-1.1	+7.4	+9.8	+.172	+1.0	+2.9		+2.9	+7.7	+.288
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		%
Jeremy Lin	7	27.0	12.4	0.4	1.9	2.3	2.6	0.7	0.0	1.6	3.0	3.7	9.0	.413	0.4	2.0	.214	4.6	5.6	.821
difference:	+6	+11.5	+18.1	+3.3	+4.6	+7.9	+0.3	+0.2	+2.6	-1.7	-0.2	+8.5	+10.8	+.199	+0.4	+2.0		+1.6	+6.6	+.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
	Jeremy Lin	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2016-17	1998-99
Team	Brooklyn Nets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	36	24.5	14.5	0.3	3.4	3.8	5.1	1.2	0.4	2.4	2.2	4.9	11.1	.438	1.6	4.3	.372	3.2	3.9	.816
difference:	+13	+10.3	+11.8	+3.5	+3.5	+6.9	+2.8	+0.5	+1.3	-0.1	-1.0	+5.5	+7.0	+.138	+1.6	+4.3		+2.3	+6.3	+.276
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		%
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jeremy Lin	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2017-18	1999-00
Team	Brooklyn Nets	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	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	1	25.0	18.0	0.0	0.0	0	4.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	3.0	5.0	12.0	.417	1.0	2.0	.500	7.0	7.0	1.000
difference:	+78	+15.0	+11.7	+4.3	+9.4	+13.6	+0.2	+0.5	+3.0	-0.2	-0.2	+7.1	+9.1	+.157	+1.0	+2.0		+1.5	+3.4	+.476
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		%
Jeremy Lin	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Jeremy Lin	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2018-19	2000-01
Team	Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jeremy Lin	74	19.4	9.6	0.3	2.1	2.4	3.1	0.6	0.2	1.7	1.9	3.2	7.3	.440	0.7	2.5	.294	2.4	2.8	.838
difference:		+20.1	+19.1	+3.6	+6.7	+10.3	+0.6		+2.6	-1.2	-1.6	+7.8	+11.9	+.132	+0.7	+2.5		+4.3	+10.3	+.325
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		%
Jeremy Lin	8	3.4	1.1	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.1	0.0	0.6	0.3	0.3	1.1	.222	0.1	0.3	.500	0.5	0.5	1.000
difference:	+8	+38.9	+29.3	+5.7	+9.4	+15.0	+2.7	+0.3	+2.4	-3.0	-3.1	+11.6	+20.4	+.333	+0.1	+0.3		+6.1	+12.0	+.475
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 Jeremy Lin 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 Jeremy Lin, 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