Shaquille O'Neal vs. Isaiah Thomas Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Isaiah Thomas 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.

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, 7 more than Isaiah Thomas, who played 12. Shaquille O'Neal had the first of his seasons in 1992-93, while Isaiah Thomas had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1992-93	2011-12
Team	Orlando Magic	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie Second 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		%
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:	+16	+12.4	+11.9	+3.5	+7.8	+11.3	+2.2	+0.1	+3.4	-2.2	-2.1	+5.1	+7.3	+.114	+1.3	+3.4		+2.9	+6.1	+.240
Isaiah Thomas	65	25.5	11.5	0.7	1.8	2.6	4.1	0.8	0.1	1.6	1.9	3.9	8.8	.448	1.3	3.4	.379	2.4	2.8	.832
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Shaquille O'Neal nor Isaiah Thomas played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1993-94	2012-13
Team	Orlando Magic	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Magic Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Did not play

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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		%
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:	+2	+12.9	+15.4	+4.3	+6.8	+11.2	+1.6	+0.1	+2.9	-0.9	-1.4	+7.2	+9.1	+.159	+1.5	+4.1		+2.6	+6.9	+.328
Isaiah Thomas	79	26.9	13.9	0.4	1.7	2.0	4.0	0.8	0.0	1.8	2.1	4.6	10.5	.440	1.5	4.1	.358	3.2	3.6	.882
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
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1994-95	2013-14
Team	Orlando Magic	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Magic Lost NBA Finals	Did not play

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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		%
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:	+7	+2.3	+9.0	+3.5	+5.0	+8.5	+3.6	+0.4	+2.3	-0.4	-0.7	+4.9	+5.0	+.130	+1.8	+5.0	+.349	+1.0	+5.1	+.317
Isaiah Thomas	72	34.7	20.3	0.7	2.3	2.9	6.3	1.3	0.1	3.0	2.6	6.9	15.2	.453	1.8	5.1	.349	4.8	5.7	.850
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
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1995-96	2014-15
Team	Orlando Magic	Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Magic Lost East Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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:	+13	+10.2	+10.2	+2.9	+5.9	+8.7	+1.3	+0.3	+2.0	-0.8	-1.4	+6.0	+7.2	+.153	+1.9	+5.2		+0.1	+4.3	+.381
Isaiah Thomas	67	25.8	16.4	0.5	1.8	2.3	4.2	0.9	0.1	2.1	2.2	5.0	11.9	.420	1.9	5.2	.373	4.5	5.2	.868
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
difference:	+8	+8.5	+8.3	+3.8	+3.1	+7.0	+2.4		+1.3	-0.2	-0.8	+6.4	+4.5	+.273	+0.8	+4.5		+3.8	+2.2	+.576
Isaiah Thomas	4	29.8	17.5	0.3	2.8	3.0	7.0	0.8	0.0	3.5	2.5	4.5	13.5	.333	0.8	4.5	.167	7.8	8.0	.969

Season 5
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1996-97	2015-16
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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:	+31	+5.9	+4.0	+3.2	+6.3	+9.5	+3.1	+0.2	+2.8	-0.2	-1.5	+3.6	+2.5	+.129	+2.0	+5.6	+.359	+1.3	+2.8	+.387
Isaiah Thomas	82	32.2	22.2	0.6	2.4	3.0	6.2	1.1	0.1	2.7	2.0	7.2	16.9	.428	2.0	5.7	.359	5.8	6.6	.871
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
difference:	+3	+0.5	+2.7	+3.9	+3.6	+7.6	+1.8	+0.1	+1.1	-0.1	-1.1	+2.1	+0.6	+.119	+2.2	+7.7		+0.8	+3.9	+.199
Isaiah Thomas	6	36.7	24.2	0.3	2.7	3.0	5.0	0.7	0.8	2.3	3.0	7.8	19.8	.395	2.2	7.7	.283	6.3	7.8	.809

Season 6
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1997-98	2016-17
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East 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		%
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:	+16	+2.5	+0.6	+2.9	+5.8	+8.7	+3.5	+0.2	+2.2	-0.1	-1.0	+2.2	+0.3	+.121	+3.2	+8.5		+1.8	+2.9	+.382
Isaiah Thomas	76	33.8	28.9	0.6	2.1	2.7	5.9	0.9	0.2	2.8	2.2	9.0	19.4	.463	3.2	8.5	.379	7.8	8.5	.909
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:	+2	+3.8	+7.2	+3.4	+3.7	+7.1	+3.8	+0.4	+2.5		-0.9	+4.8	+2.4	+.187	+2.4	+7.2		+0.1	+4.8	+.317
Isaiah Thomas	15	34.7	23.3	0.3	2.8	3.1	6.7	0.9	0.1	3.3	2.3	7.4	17.4	.425	2.4	7.2	.333	6.1	7.4	.820

Season 7
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1998-99	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Did not play

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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		%
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:	+17	+7.9	+11.1	+3.3	+5.3	+8.6	+2.5	+0.2	+1.6	-0.5	-1.4	+5.5	+4.9	+.203	+1.7	+5.9		+1.8	+6.1	+.353
Isaiah Thomas	32	26.9	15.2	0.5	1.6	2.1	4.8	0.5	0.1	3.0	1.8	4.9	13.2	.373	1.7	5.9	.293	3.7	4.1	.893
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
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	1999-00	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
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

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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		%
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:	+67	+24.9	+21.6	+3.9	+8.7	+12.5	+1.9	+0.1	+2.9	-1.3	-1.8	+9.3	+12.8	+.231	+1.0	+3.6		+4.1	+8.1	+.106
Isaiah Thomas	12	15.1	8.1	0.4	0.7	1.1	1.9	0.4	0.1	1.5	1.4	2.8	8.3	.343	1.0	3.6	.279	1.4	2.3	.630
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
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2000-01	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did not play

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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		%
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
difference:	+34	+16.4	+16.5	+3.6	+7.4	+11.0		+0.3	+2.6	-1.0	-1.6	+6.6	+8.5	+.164	+2.0	+4.7		+5.1	+11.2	+.303
Isaiah Thomas	40	23.1	12.2	0.3	1.4	1.7	3.7	0.3	0.2	1.9	1.9	4.4	10.7	.408	2.0	4.7	.413	1.6	1.9	.816
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2001-02	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did not play

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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		%
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
difference:	+64	+20.1	+19.5	+3.2	+6.2	+9.4	+1.3	+0.3	+2.0	-0.6	-2.0	+7.6	+9.3	+.246	+1.0	+4.0		+5.2	+10.0	+.445
Isaiah Thomas	3	16.0	7.7	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.7	0.3	0.0	2.0	1.0	3.0	9.0	.333	1.0	4.0	.250	0.7	0.7	1.000
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2002-03	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Did not play

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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		%
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
difference:	+45	+22.6	+19.1	+3.7	+6.1	+9.8	+1.6	+0.3	+2.2	-2.2	-1.9	+7.4	+10.5	+.173	+1.3	+3.8		+5.7	+9.6	+.224
Isaiah Thomas	22	15.2	8.4	0.2	1.1	1.3	1.5	0.3	0.2	0.7	1.5	3.0	7.6	.401	1.3	3.8	.337	1.0	1.2	.846
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Isaiah Thomas	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Isaiah Thomas didn't play in 2022-23.

Season 12
	Shaquille O'Neal	Isaiah Thomas
Season	2003-04	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
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
difference:	+61	+33.6	+20.2	+3.7	+7.8	+11.5	+2.4	+0.5	+2.5	-2.9	-3.4	+7.8	+12.4	+.284	+0.3	+0.7		+4.9	+10.1
Isaiah Thomas	6	3.2	1.3	0.0	0.0	0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.7	.300	0.3	0.7	.500	0.0	0.0	-
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
difference:	+21	+37.9	+21.5	+4.1	+9.1	+13.2	+2.5	+0.3	+2.8	-1.5	-4.1	+8.3	+12.0	+.593		+1.0		+5.0	+11.5
Isaiah Thomas	1	4.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	.000	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-

Additional Years
* Shaquille O'Neal played 7 seasons more than Isaiah Thomas in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 19, from 2005 to 2011—Shaquille O'Neal played in 6 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 7 extra years over Isaiah Thomas, Shaquille O'Neal got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 4 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP