Jermaine O'Neal vs. Karl-Anthony Towns Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl-Anthony Towns and Jermaine O'Neal, 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.

Jermaine O'Neal played 18 years in the NBA, 8 more than Karl-Anthony Towns, who played 10. Jermaine O'Neal had the first of his seasons in 1996-97, while Karl-Anthony Towns had his rookie season in 2015-16. 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
	Jermaine O'Neal	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1996-97	2015-16
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West 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		%
Jermaine O'Neal	45	10.2	4.1	0.9	1.9	2.8	0.2	0.0	0.6	0.6	1.0	1.5	3.4	.451	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.7	.603
difference:	+37	+21.8	+14.2	+1.9	+5.8	+7.7	+1.8	+0.7	+1.1	-1.6	-2.0	+6.1	+10.7	+.091	+0.4	+1.1		+1.7	+1.7	+.208
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	32.0	18.3	2.8	7.7	10.5	2.0	0.7	1.7	2.2	3.0	7.6	14.1	.542	0.4	1.1	.341	2.7	3.4	.811
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jermaine O'Neal	2	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.5	.000	0.0	1.0	.000
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Jermaine O'Neal	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1998-99	2017-18
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Jermaine O'Neal	36	8.6	2.5	1.2	1.5	2.7	0.4	0.1	0.4	0.4	1.1	1.0	2.3	.434	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	1.0	.514
difference:	+46	+27.0	+18.8	+1.7	+7.9	+9.6	+2.0	+0.7	+1.0	-1.5	-2.4	+6.8	+12.0	+.111	+1.5	+3.5		+3.7	+3.9	+.344
Karl-Anthony Towns	82	35.6	21.3	2.9	9.4	12.3	2.4	0.8	1.4	1.9	3.5	7.8	14.3	.545	1.5	3.5	.421	4.2	4.9	.858
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jermaine O'Neal	9	6.0	1.6	0.9	1.0	1.9	0.1	0.0	0.3	0.2	1.2	0.4	1.1	.400	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.3	.500
difference:	+4	+28.0	+13.6	+2.1	+9.4	+11.5	+2.1	+0.4	+0.7	-2.2	-1.6	+5.2	+10.9	+.067	+0.6	+2.2		+2.7	+3.3	+.239
Karl-Anthony Towns	5	34.0	15.2	3.0	10.4	13.4	2.2	0.4	1.0	2.4	2.8	5.6	12.0	.467	0.6	2.2	.273	3.4	4.6	.739

Season 4
	Jermaine O'Neal	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	1999-00	2018-19
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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		%
Jermaine O'Neal	70	12.3	3.9	1.4	1.9	3.3	0.3	0.2	0.8	0.7	1.8	1.5	3.2	.486	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.4	.582
difference:	+7	+20.8	+20.5	+2.0	+7.1	+9.1	+3.1	+0.7	+0.8	-2.4	-2.0	+7.3	+13.9	+.032	+1.8	+4.6		+4.1	+4.4	+.254
Karl-Anthony Towns	77	33.1	24.4	3.4	9.0	12.4	3.4	0.9	1.6	3.1	3.8	8.8	17.1	.518	1.8	4.6	.400	4.9	5.8	.836
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jermaine O'Neal	8	4.9	1.5	0.3	0.6	0.9	0.1	0.0	0.4	0.0	1.1	0.4	1.4	.273	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.1	.667
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Jermaine O'Neal	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	2001-02	2020-21
Team	Indiana Pacers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	Most Improved Player	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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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		%
Jermaine O'Neal	72	37.6	19.0	2.6	7.9	10.5	1.6	0.6	2.3	2.4	3.7	7.5	15.7	.479	0.0	0.2	.071	3.9	5.7	.688
difference:	+22	+3.8	+5.8	+0.1		+0.1	+2.9	+0.2	+1.2	-0.8		+1.0	+1.8	+.007	+2.4	+6.1	+.316	+1.4	+0.5	+.171
Karl-Anthony Towns	50	33.8	24.8	2.7	7.9	10.6	4.5	0.8	1.1	3.2	3.7	8.5	17.5	.486	2.4	6.3	.387	5.3	6.2	.859
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jermaine O'Neal	5	38.0	17.2	1.2	6.4	7.6	1.0	0.8	1.6	2.8	4.8	6.8	15.2	.447	0.0	0.2	.000	3.6	4.8	.750
Karl-Anthony Towns	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Jermaine O'Neal	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	2002-03	2021-22
Team	Indiana Pacers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Jermaine O'Neal	77	37.2	20.8	2.6	7.7	10.3	2.0	0.9	2.3	2.3	3.6	7.9	16.4	.484	0.1	0.3	.333	4.8	6.6	.731
difference:	+3	+3.7	+3.8		+0.5	+0.5	+1.6	+0.1	+1.2	-0.8		+0.8		+.045	+1.9	+4.6	+.077	+0.4	+0.3	+.091
Karl-Anthony Towns	74	33.5	24.6	2.6	7.2	9.8	3.6	1.0	1.1	3.1	3.6	8.7	16.4	.529	2.0	4.9	.410	5.2	6.3	.822
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jermaine O'Neal	6	45.5	22.8	4.0	13.5	17.5	0.7	0.5	3.0	3.0	3.7	7.2	15.3	.467	0.0	0.5	.000	8.5	10.8	.785
difference:		+8.5	+1.0	+2.2	+4.5	+6.7	+1.5	+0.2	+1.0	-1.5	-0.5	+0.7	+2.0	+.021	+1.7	+3.2	+.455	+1.3	+2.5	+.075
Karl-Anthony Towns	6	37.0	21.8	1.8	9.0	10.8	2.2	0.7	2.0	4.5	4.2	6.5	13.3	.488	1.7	3.7	.455	7.2	8.3	.860

Season 8
	Jermaine O'Neal	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	2003-04	2022-23
Team	Indiana Pacers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Jermaine O'Neal	78	35.7	20.1	2.5	7.5	10.0	2.1	0.8	2.6	2.3	3.2	7.8	17.9	.434	0.0	0.2	.111	4.5	5.9	.757
difference:	+49	+2.7	+0.7	+0.8	+1.0	+1.9	+2.7	+0.1	+2.0	-0.7	-0.6	+0.5	+3.1	+.061	+2.1	+5.5	+.255	+0.4	+1.2	+.117
Karl-Anthony Towns	29	33.0	20.8	1.7	6.5	8.1	4.8	0.7	0.6	3.0	3.8	7.3	14.8	.495	2.1	5.7	.366	4.1	4.7	.874
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jermaine O'Neal	16	37.6	19.2	1.8	7.3	9.1	1.2	0.5	2.3	1.8	3.3	7.2	17.0	.423	0.0	0.3	.000	4.8	6.9	.700
difference:	+11	+1.6	+1.0	+0.6	+1.7	+1.1	+0.8	+0.1	+1.5	-1.8	-0.9	+0.8	+3.0	+.034	+1.2	+4.5	+.250	+0.6	+1.3	+.050
Karl-Anthony Towns	5	36.0	18.2	1.2	9.0	10.2	2.0	0.6	0.8	3.6	4.2	6.4	14.0	.457	1.2	4.8	.250	4.2	5.6	.750

Season 9
	Jermaine O'Neal	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	2004-05	2023-24
Team	Indiana Pacers	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf Semis	Timberwolves Lost West Conf Finals

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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		%
Jermaine O'Neal	44	34.8	24.3	1.9	6.9	8.8	1.9	0.6	2.0	3.0	3.9	8.8	19.4	.452	0.0	0.1	.167	6.7	8.9	.754
difference:	+18	+2.1	+2.5	+0.4	+0.1	+0.5	+1.1	+0.1	+1.3	-0.1	-0.6	+1.1	+4.1	+.052	+2.2	+5.2	+.249	+2.6	+4.2	+.119
Karl-Anthony Towns	62	32.7	21.8	1.5	6.8	8.3	3.0	0.7	0.7	2.9	3.3	7.7	15.3	.504	2.2	5.3	.416	4.1	4.7	.873
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jermaine O'Neal	13	36.8	16.0	1.6	6.4	8.0	2.2	0.5	2.6	2.8	3.7	5.9	16.2	.365	0.0	0.2	.000	4.2	5.5	.750
difference:	+3	+4.2	+3.1	+0.6	+0.4	+1.0	+0.4	+0.3	+2.4	-1.1	-0.3	+0.9	+1.7	+.101	+1.9	+5.0	+.361	+0.5	+1.2	+.105
Karl-Anthony Towns	16	32.6	19.1	2.2	6.8	9.0	2.6	0.8	0.2	1.7	3.4	6.8	14.5	.466	1.9	5.2	.361	3.7	4.3	.855

Season 10
	Jermaine O'Neal	Karl-Anthony Towns
Season	2005-06	2024-25
Team	Indiana Pacers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
Jermaine O'Neal	51	35.3	20.1	2.0	7.3	9.3	2.6	0.5	2.3	3.0	3.5	7.5	15.8	.472	0.1	0.2	.300	5.1	7.2	.709
difference:	+21	+0.3	+4.3	+0.9	+2.5	+3.5	+0.5	+0.5	+1.6	-0.3		+1.4	+1.1	+.054	+1.9	+4.5	+.120	+0.4	+1.5	+.120
Karl-Anthony Towns	72	35.0	24.4	2.9	9.8	12.8	3.1	1.0	0.7	2.7	3.5	8.9	16.9	.526	2.0	4.7	.420	4.7	5.7	.829
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jermaine O'Neal	6	36.0	21.0	1.5	6.0	7.5	1.7	0.5	2.3	4.3	4.7	7.3	14.0	.524	0.0	0.3	.000	6.3	8.8	.717
difference:	+12	+0.5	+0.4	+0.6	+3.5	+4.1	+0.4	+0.2	+1.6	-2.1	-0.4	+0.4	+1.8	+.036	+1.4	+3.8	+.351	+1.7	+3.4	+.128
Karl-Anthony Towns	18	35.5	21.4	2.1	9.5	11.6	1.3	0.7	0.7	2.2	4.3	7.7	15.8	.488	1.4	4.1	.351	4.6	5.4	.845

Additional Years
* Jermaine O'Neal played 8 seasons more than Karl-Anthony Towns in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 11 to 18, from 2007 to 2014—Jermaine O'Neal played in 4 Playoffs. In those 8 extra years over Karl-Anthony Towns, Jermaine O'Neal got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game