Luka Doncic vs. Shaquille O'Neal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shaquille O'Neal and Luka Doncic, 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.

Luka Doncic played 8 years in the NBA, 11 less than Shaquille O'Neal, who played 19. Luka Doncic had the first of his seasons in 2018-19, 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
	Luka Doncic	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2018-19	1992-93
Team	Dallas Mavericks	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		%
Luka Doncic	72	32.2	21.2	1.2	6.6	7.8	6.0	1.1	0.3	3.4	1.9	7.0	16.5	.427	2.3	7.1	.327	4.8	6.7	.713
difference:	+9	+5.7	+2.2	+3.0	+3.0	+6.1	+4.1	+0.4	+3.2	-0.4	-2.1	+2.0	+0.4	+.135	+2.3	+7.1		+0.5	+2.2	+.121
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 Luka Doncic nor Shaquille O'Neal played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Luka Doncic	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2019-20	1993-94
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks 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		%
Luka Doncic	61	33.6	28.8	1.3	8.1	9.4	8.8	1.0	0.2	4.3	2.5	9.5	20.6	.463	2.8	8.9	.316	7.0	9.2	.758
difference:	+20	+6.2	+0.5	+3.4	+0.4	+3.8	+6.4	+0.1	+2.7	-1.6	-1.0	+2.3	+1.0	+.136	+2.8	+8.9		+1.2	+1.3	+.204
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		%
Luka Doncic	6	35.8	31.0	0.7	9.2	9.8	8.7	1.2	0.5	5.2	2.8	10.7	21.3	.500	2.7	7.3	.364	7.0	10.7	.656
difference:	+3	+6.2	+10.3	+5.0	+1.5	+3.5	+6.4	+0.5	+2.5	-1.9	-1.5	+3.0	+6.3	+.011	+2.7	+7.3		+1.7	+0.6	+.185
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
	Luka Doncic	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2020-21	1994-95
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks 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		%
Luka Doncic	66	34.3	27.7	0.8	7.2	8.0	8.6	1.0	0.5	4.3	2.3	9.8	20.5	.479	2.9	8.3	.350	5.2	7.1	.730
difference:	+13	+2.7	+1.6	+3.4	+0.1	+3.4	+5.9	+0.1	+1.9	-1.7	-1.0	+2.0	+0.3	+.104	+2.9	+8.2	+.350	+0.6	+3.7	+.197
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		%
Luka Doncic	7	40.1	35.7	0.6	7.3	7.9	10.3	1.3	0.4	4.6	2.4	13.7	28.0	.490	4.4	10.9	.408	3.9	7.3	.529
difference:	+14	+1.8	+10.0	+3.9	+0.1	+4.0	+7.0	+0.4	+1.5	-1.1	-1.6	+4.4	+11.9	+.087	+4.4	+10.9		+3.2	+5.1	+.042
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
	Luka Doncic	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2021-22	1995-96
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 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		%
Luka Doncic	65	35.4	28.4	0.9	8.3	9.1	8.7	1.2	0.6	4.5	2.2	9.9	21.6	.457	3.1	8.8	.353	5.6	7.5	.744
difference:	+11	+0.6	+1.8	+2.5	+0.6	+1.9	+5.8	+0.6	+1.5	-1.6	-1.4	+1.1	+2.5	+.116	+3.1	+8.8		+1.0	+2.0	+.257
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		%
Luka Doncic	15	36.8	31.7	0.7	9.1	9.8	6.4	1.8	0.6	3.9	2.9	10.7	23.5	.455	3.4	9.9	.345	6.9	9.0	.770
difference:	+3	+1.5	+5.9	+3.4	+3.2	+0.2	+1.8	+1.0	+0.7	-0.2	-0.4	+0.2	+5.5	+.151	+3.4	+9.9		+2.9	+1.2	+.377
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
	Luka Doncic	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2022-23	1996-97
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Luka Doncic	66	36.2	32.4	0.8	7.8	8.6	8.0	1.4	0.5	3.6	2.5	10.9	22.0	.496	2.8	8.2	.342	7.8	10.5	.742
difference:	+15	+1.9	+6.2	+3.0	+0.9	+3.9	+4.9	+0.5	+2.4	-0.7	-1.0	+0.1	+2.6	+.061	+2.8	+8.1	+.342	+3.3	+1.1	+.258
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		%
Luka Doncic	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
	Luka Doncic	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2023-24	1997-98
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks 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		%
Luka Doncic	70	37.5	33.9	0.8	8.4	9.2	9.8	1.4	0.5	4.0	2.1	11.5	23.6	.487	4.1	10.6	.382	6.8	8.7	.786
difference:	+10	+1.2	+5.6	+2.7	+0.5	+2.2	+7.4	+0.7	+1.9	-1.1	-1.1	+0.3	+4.5	+.097	+4.1	+10.6		+0.8	+2.7	+.259
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		%
Luka Doncic	22	40.9	28.9	0.7	8.7	9.5	8.1	1.9	0.4	4.1	2.5	10.2	22.9	.446	3.1	9.6	.322	5.3	7.0	.765
difference:	+9	+2.4	+1.6	+3.0	+2.2	+0.7	+5.2	+1.4	+2.2	-0.8	-0.7	+2.0	+3.1	+.166	+3.1	+9.6		+0.9	+5.2	+.262
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
	Luka Doncic	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2024-25	1998-99
Team	Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West 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		%
Luka Doncic	50	35.4	28.2	0.8	7.4	8.2	7.7	1.8	0.4	3.6	2.5	9.2	20.5	.450	3.5	9.6	.368	6.2	7.9	.782
difference:	+1	+0.6	+1.9	+3.0	+0.5	+2.5	+5.4	+1.1	+1.3	-1.1	-0.7	+1.2	+2.4	+.126	+3.5	+9.6		+0.7	+2.3	+.242
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		%
Luka Doncic	5	41.6	30.2	0.4	6.6	7.0	5.8	1.0	0.6	4.0	3.2	9.4	20.8	.452	3.2	9.2	.348	8.2	9.2	.891
difference:	+3	+2.2	+3.6	+5.1	+0.5	+4.6	+3.5	+0.1	+2.3	-1.7	-0.4	+0.5	+1.4	+.058	+3.2	+9.2		+1.3	+5.6	+.425
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
	Luka Doncic	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2025-26	1999-00
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	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

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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		%
Luka Doncic	3	38.3	45.3	0.7	11.0	11.7	7.7	0.7	0.3	3.7	2.7	15.0	25.7	.584	4.3	12.3	.351	11.0	14.0	.786
difference:	+76	+1.7	+15.6	+3.6	+1.6	+1.9	+3.9	+0.2	+2.7	-0.9	-0.5	+2.9	+4.6	+.010	+4.3	+12.3		+5.5	+3.6	+.262
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		%
Luka Doncic	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

Additional Years
* Shaquille O'Neal played 11 seasons more than Luka Doncic 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 Luka Doncic, 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