Shaquille O'Neal vs. James Worthy Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Worthy 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 / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

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 James Worthy, who played 12. Shaquille O'Neal had the first of his seasons in 1992-93, while James Worthy had his rookie season in 1982-83. 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
James Worthy 12 9 1982-83 to 1993-94

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12

Rookie Season
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 1992-931982-83
Team Orlando MagicLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First TeamAchievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+4+12.3+10.0+2.2+6.5+8.7+0.2+0.5+2.7-1.5-1.1+3.2+6.1+.017+0.1+3.5+6.0+.032
James Worthy 77 25.6 13.4 2.0 3.1 5.2 1.7 1.2 0.8 2.3 2.9 5.8 10.0 .579 0.0 0.1 .250 1.8 2.9 .624
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Shaquille O'Neal nor James Worthy played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 1993-941983-84
Team Orlando MagicLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Magic Lost East Conf 1st RdLakers Lost NBA Finals
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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+10.3+14.8+2.8+4.1+6.9+0.1+2.0-0.5-0.5+5.8+8.7+.043+0.1+3.4+7.4+.205
James Worthy 82 29.5 14.5 1.9 4.4 6.3 2.5 0.9 0.9 2.2 3.0 6.0 10.9 .556 0.0 0.1 .000 2.4 3.1 .759
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+18+8.3+3.0+4.0+4.4+8.3+0.4+0.6+2.5-1.4-1.6+0.1+2.0+.088+0.1+3.3+8.0+.138
James Worthy 21 33.7 17.7 1.7 3.3 5.0 2.7 1.3 0.5 1.9 2.7 7.8 13.0 .599 0.0 0.1 .500 2.0 3.3 .609

Season 3
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 1994-951984-85
Team Orlando MagicLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Magic Lost NBA FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+1+3.3+11.7+2.1+3.0+5.0+0.2+0.2+1.6-0.1-0.8+4.2+6.9+.011+3.4+7.7+.243
James Worthy 80 33.7 17.6 2.1 4.3 6.4 2.5 1.1 0.8 2.5 2.5 7.6 13.3 .572 0.0 0.1 .000 2.4 3.1 .776
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+5.4+4.2+2.7+4.2+6.8+1.1+1.2-2.1-1.2+0.6+2.0+.045+0.1+0.1+3.2+6.6+.105
James Worthy 19 32.9 21.5 1.8 3.2 5.1 2.2 0.9 0.7 1.4 2.8 8.7 14.1 .622 0.1 0.1 .500 3.9 5.8 .676

Season 4
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 1995-961985-86
Team Orlando MagicLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Magic Lost East Conf FinalsLakers Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+21+3.3+6.6+1.6+4.4+5.8+0.2+0.5+1.1-0.9-1.0+2.6+4.6+.006+0.2+1.4+5.3+.284
James Worthy 75 32.7 20.0 1.8 3.3 5.2 2.7 1.1 1.0 2.0 2.6 8.4 14.5 .579 0.0 0.2 .000 3.2 4.2 .771
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+2+0.2+6.2+2.5+2.8+5.4+1.4+0.3+0.6-1.1-0.2+2.3+2.5+.048+0.3+1.7+6.8+.288
James Worthy 14 38.5 19.6 1.6 3.1 4.6 3.2 1.1 0.7 2.6 3.1 8.6 15.5 .558 0.0 0.3 .000 2.3 3.4 .681

Season 5
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 1996-971986-87
Team Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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+3.7+6.8+1.9+4.9+6.8+0.3+0.4+1.9-0.9-1.0+2.9+4.7+.018+0.1+0.9+4.7+.267
James Worthy 82 34.4 19.4 1.9 3.8 5.7 2.8 1.3 1.0 2.0 2.5 7.9 14.7 .539 0.0 0.2 .000 3.6 4.7 .751
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+9+1.6+3.3+2.5+2.4+5.0+0.3+1.0+0.7-0.2-1.8+0.1+2.6+.077+0.1+3.0+6.3+.143
James Worthy 18 37.8 23.6 1.7 3.9 5.6 3.5 1.6 1.2 2.2 2.3 9.8 16.6 .591 0.0 0.1 .000 4.1 5.4 .753

Season 6
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 1997-981987-88
Team Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards -Achievement Finals MVP
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+15+0.9+8.6+1.8+4.6+6.4+1.5+0.3+1.7-0.8-0.9+3.0+3.6+.053+0.2+2.8+7.3+.269
James Worthy 75 35.4 19.7 1.7 3.3 5.0 3.9 1.0 0.7 2.1 2.3 8.2 15.5 .531 0.0 0.2 .125 3.2 4.1 .796
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+11+1.2+9.4+1.5+2.9+4.4+1.5+0.9+1.8-1.0-0.8+3.7+3.5+.089+0.4+2.2+6.9+.255
James Worthy 24 37.3 21.1 2.2 3.6 5.8 4.4 1.4 0.8 2.3 2.4 8.5 16.3 .523 0.0 0.4 .111 4.0 5.3 .758

Season 7
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 1998-991988-89
Team Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf SemisLakers Lost NBA Finals
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+32+1.7+5.8+1.7+2.9+4.7+1.3+0.6+1.0-0.3-1.0+1.7+2.3+.028+0.3+2.4+6.2+.242
James Worthy 81 36.5 20.5 2.1 4.0 6.0 3.6 1.3 0.7 2.2 2.2 8.7 15.8 .548 0.0 0.3 .087 3.1 4.0 .782
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+7+0.6+1.8+3.0+1.8+4.9+0.5+0.3+1.8-0.1-1.2+0.3+1.4+.057+0.2+0.5+2.7+9.5+.322
James Worthy 15 40.0 24.8 2.5 4.3 6.7 2.8 1.2 1.1 2.2 2.4 10.2 18.0 .567 0.2 0.5 .375 4.2 5.3 .788

Season 8
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 1999-001989-90
Team Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement Scoring Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionLakers Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+1+3.0+8.6+2.3+5.4+7.6+0.2+0.7+2.4-0.8-0.8+3.2+4.9+.026+0.2+0.6+2.4+6.4+.258
James Worthy 80 37.0 21.1 2.0 4.0 6.0 3.6 1.2 0.6 2.0 2.4 8.9 16.2 .548 0.2 0.6 .306 3.1 4.0 .782
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+14+2.8+6.5+4.0+6.0+9.8+0.1+1.0+2.1-0.9+2.4+1.9+.069+0.2+0.9+1.9+8.1+.381
James Worthy 9 40.7 24.2 1.2 4.3 5.6 3.0 1.6 0.3 2.4 2.0 10.0 20.1 .497 0.2 0.9 .250 4.0 4.8 .837

Season 9
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 2000-011990-91
Team Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionLakers Lost NBA Finals
more >>
9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+4+0.9+7.3+2.5+5.6+8.1+0.2+0.7+2.4-1.3-2.0+1.8+0.5+.080+0.3+1.2+4.0+9.7+.284
James Worthy 78 38.6 21.4 1.4 3.2 4.6 3.5 1.3 0.4 1.6 1.5 9.2 18.7 .492 0.3 1.2 .289 2.7 3.4 .797
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+2+1.6+9.3+4.3+7.1+11.3+0.7+0.7+2.3-1.4-1.5+3.0+2.3+.090+0.2+1.3+3.7+8.5+.211
James Worthy 18 40.7 21.1 1.4 2.7 4.1 3.9 1.1 0.1 2.2 1.9 8.9 19.2 .465 0.2 1.3 .167 2.9 4.0 .736

Season 10
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 2001-021991-92
Team Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement Finals MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+13+2.9+7.3+1.7+3.4+5.1+1.7+0.8+1.6-0.2-1.4+2.3+0.3+.132+0.2+0.8+2.8+6.9+.259
James Worthy 54 39.0 19.9 1.8 3.8 5.6 4.7 1.4 0.4 2.4 1.6 8.3 18.6 .447 0.2 0.8 .209 3.1 3.8 .814
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
James Worthy DNP------ --- ----------

Season 11
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 2002-031992-93
Team Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Lakers Lost West Conf SemisLakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+15+9.0+12.6+3.0+5.1+8.1+0.3+0.5+2.1-1.2-2.3+4.2+4.2+.127+0.4+1.4+4.6+8.2+.188
James Worthy 82 28.8 14.9 0.9 2.1 3.0 3.4 1.1 0.3 1.7 1.1 6.2 13.9 .447 0.4 1.4 .270 2.1 2.6 .810
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+7+10.5+13.2+3.9+7.6+11.4+1.1+0.4+2.8-1.5-0.6+3.7+1.6+.163+0.4+1.6+6.2+10.0+.021
James Worthy 5 29.6 13.8 1.4 2.0 3.4 2.6 1.0 0.0 1.4 2.2 6.4 17.2 .372 0.4 1.6 .250 0.6 1.0 .600

Season 12
Shaquille O'Neal James Worthy
Season 2003-041993-94
Team Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Lakers Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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:+13+16.8+11.3+3.1+6.1+9.2+1.0+0.1+2.3-1.7-2.4+4.0+3.6+.178+0.4+1.4+3.6+8.4+.251
James Worthy 80 20.0 10.2 0.6 1.7 2.3 1.9 0.6 0.2 1.2 1.0 4.3 10.5 .406 0.4 1.4 .288 1.3 1.7 .741
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
James Worthy DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Shaquille O'Neal played 7 seasons more than James Worthy 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 James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 2 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 4 All-Star Game
Achievement 1 All-Star Game MVP
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