Shaquille O'Neal vs. David Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of David Thompson and Shaquille 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

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.

Shaquille O'Neal played 19 years in the NBA, 11 more than David Thompson, who played 8. Shaquille O'Neal had the first of his seasons in 1992-93, while David Thompson had his rookie season in 1976-77. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Shaquille O'Neal	19	17	1992-93 to 2010-11
David Thompson	8	5	1976-77 to 1983-84

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8


Rookie Season
	Shaquille O'Neal	David Thompson
Season	1992-93	1976-77
Team	Orlando Magic	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did not play	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis

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		%
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
difference:	+1	+1.3	+2.5	+2.5	+7.2	+9.8	+2.2	+0.7	+2.9		-1.1	+1.0	+3.7	+.055				+0.5	+1.3	+.174
David Thompson	82	36.6	25.9	1.7	2.4	4.1	4.1	1.4	0.6	-	2.9	10.0	19.8	.507	-	-	-	5.8	7.6	.766

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Shaquille O'Neal	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
David Thompson	6	39.5	24.7	2.2	3.0	5.2	4.0	1.5	0.7	-	3.7	9.3	20.2	.463	-	-	-	6.0	8.8	.679


Season 2
	Shaquille O'Neal	David Thompson
Season	1993-94	1977-78
Team	Orlando Magic	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals

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		%
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
difference:	+1	+2.0	+2.1	+2.7	+5.6	+8.3	+2.1	+0.3	+1.7	-0.4	-0.8	+1.5	+0.2	+.078				+0.7	+2.1	+.224
David Thompson	80	37.8	27.2	2.0	2.9	4.9	4.5	1.2	1.2	3.1	2.7	10.3	19.8	.521	-	-	-	6.5	8.4	.778

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+10	+5.0	+4.5	+4.3	+5.0	+9.2	+1.7		+1.4	-0.3	-1.7	+2.4	+7.4	+.061				+0.2	+5.1	+.354
David Thompson	13	37.0	25.2	1.4	2.7	4.1	4.0	0.7	1.6	3.0	2.6	10.1	22.4	.450	-	-	-	5.1	6.2	.825


Season 3
	Shaquille O'Neal	David Thompson
Season	1994-95	1978-79
Team	Orlando Magic	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Magic Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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		%
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
difference:	+3	+1.9	+5.3	+2.8	+5.1	+7.8	+0.3		+1.3	-0.2	-0.9	+2.7	+2.4	+.071					+3.1	+.220
David Thompson	76	35.1	24.0	1.4	2.2	3.6	3.0	0.9	1.1	2.4	2.4	9.1	17.8	.512	-	-	-	5.8	7.7	.753

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+18	+2.4	+2.3	+2.2	+2.7	+4.9	+0.7	+0.4	+1.6	-0.5		+3.4	+6.9	+.026				+4.4	+8.7	+.156
David Thompson	3	40.7	28.0	2.3	4.7	7.0	4.0	1.3	0.3	4.0	4.0	12.7	23.0	.551	-	-	-	2.7	3.7	.727


Season 4
	Shaquille O'Neal	David Thompson
Season	1995-96	1979-80
Team	Orlando Magic	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Magic Lost East Conf Finals	Did not play

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		%
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
difference:	+15	+4.2	+5.1	+2.0	+4.7	+6.5	+0.3	+0.4	+1.1	-0.1	-0.9	+3.6	+3.3	+.105	+0.2	+0.5		+1.9	+0.9	+.271
David Thompson	39	31.8	21.5	1.4	3.0	4.5	3.2	1.0	1.0	3.0	2.7	7.4	15.8	.468	0.2	0.5	.368	6.5	8.6	.758

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
David Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Shaquille O'Neal	David Thompson
Season	1996-97	1980-81
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Did not play

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		%
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
difference:	+26	+4.1	+0.7	+2.4	+6.4	+8.8	+0.1	+0.2	+2.1	-0.3	-0.5	+1.3	+0.6	+.051	+0.1	+0.4	+.256	+1.9	+1.4	+.311
David Thompson	77	34.0	25.5	1.4	2.3	3.7	3.0	0.7	0.8	3.2	3.0	9.5	18.8	.506	0.1	0.5	.256	6.4	8.0	.795

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
David Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Shaquille O'Neal	David Thompson
Season	1997-98	1981-82
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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		%
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
difference:	+1	+15.9	+13.4	+2.6	+6.4	+9.0	+0.5	+0.1	+1.9	-0.6	-0.8	+6.1	+8.5	+.098	+0.1	+0.2		+1.5	+5.8	+.287
David Thompson	61	20.4	14.9	0.9	1.5	2.4	1.9	0.6	0.5	2.3	2.4	5.1	10.6	.486	0.1	0.2	.286	4.5	5.6	.814

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+10	+16.5	+18.8	+2.4	+4.5	+6.9	+0.9	+0.2	+2.6	-0.6	-0.5	+7.2	+8.8	+.157	+0.3	+1.0		+4.9	+9.9	+.068
David Thompson	3	22.0	11.7	1.3	2.0	3.3	2.0	0.3	0.0	2.7	2.7	5.0	11.0	.455	0.3	1.0	.333	1.3	2.3	.571


Season 7
	Shaquille O'Neal	David Thompson
Season	1998-99	1982-83
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Supersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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		%
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
difference:	+26	+6.1	+10.4	+2.5	+4.6	+7.1	+0.7	+0.1	+1.3	-0.3	-1.3	+4.5	+5.8	+.095		+0.1		+1.5	+5.1	+.244
David Thompson	75	28.7	15.9	1.3	2.3	3.6	3.0	0.6	0.4	2.2	1.9	5.9	12.3	.481	0.0	0.1	.200	4.0	5.1	.784

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+6	+6.9	+14.6	+5.5	+6.1	+11.6	+1.2	+0.4	+2.4	-0.3	-0.1	+5.4	+6.9	+.150				+3.9	+9.8	+.134
David Thompson	2	32.5	12.0	0.0	0.0	0	3.5	0.5	0.5	2.0	3.5	4.5	12.5	.360	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	5.0	.600


Season 8
	Shaquille O'Neal	David Thompson
Season	1999-00	1983-84
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did not play

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		%
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
difference:	+60	+21.6	+17.1	+3.4	+8.0	+11.3	+3.1		+2.3	-1.4	-1.6	+7.4	+12.4	+.035		+0.1		+2.2	+6.6	+.325
David Thompson	19	18.4	12.6	0.9	1.4	2.3	0.7	0.5	0.7	1.4	1.6	4.7	8.7	.539	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	3.8	.849

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
David Thompson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Additional Years
* Shaquille O'Neal played 11 seasons more than David Thompson 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 David Thompson, 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

Shaquille O'Neal vs. David Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of David Thompson and Shaquille 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years