Steve Francis vs. Shaquille O'Neal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shaquille O'Neal and Steve Francis, 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.

Steve Francis played 9 years in the NBA, 10 less than Shaquille O'Neal, who played 19. Steve Francis had the first of his seasons in 1999-00, 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
	Steve Francis	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	1999-00	1992-93
Team	Houston Rockets	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		%
Steve Francis	77	36.1	18.0	2.0	3.3	5.3	6.6	1.5	0.4	4.0	3.0	6.5	14.5	.445	1.4	4.0	.345	3.7	4.7	.786
difference:	+4	+1.8	+5.4	+2.2	+6.3	+8.6	+4.7	+0.8	+3.1	-0.2	-1.0	+2.5	+1.6	+.117	+1.4	+4.0		+1.6	+4.2	+.194
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 Steve Francis nor Shaquille O'Neal played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Steve Francis	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2000-01	1993-94
Team	Houston Rockets	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Steve Francis	80	39.9	19.9	2.4	4.5	6.9	6.5	1.8	0.4	3.3	3.4	6.9	15.2	.451	1.7	4.2	.396	4.5	5.5	.817
difference:	+1	+0.1	+9.4	+2.3	+4.0	+6.3	+4.1	+0.9	+2.5	-0.6	-0.1	+4.9	+4.4	+.148	+1.7	+4.2		+1.3	+5.0	+.263
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		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Steve Francis	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2001-02	1994-95
Team	Houston Rockets	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Steve Francis	57	41.1	21.6	1.8	5.2	7.0	6.4	1.2	0.4	3.9	3.0	7.4	17.7	.417	1.2	3.7	.324	5.7	7.4	.773
difference:	+22	+4.1	+7.7	+2.4	+2.1	+4.4	+3.7	+0.3	+2.0	-1.3	-0.3	+4.4	+2.5	+.166	+1.2	+3.6	+.324	+0.1	+3.4	+.240
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		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Steve Francis	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2002-03	1995-96
Team	Houston Rockets	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Steve Francis	81	41.0	21.0	2.0	4.2	6.2	6.2	1.7	0.5	3.7	3.1	7.0	16.2	.435	1.0	3.0	.354	5.9	7.3	.800
difference:	+27	+5.0	+5.6	+1.4	+3.5	+4.8	+3.3	+1.1	+1.6	-0.8	-0.5	+4.0	+2.9	+.138	+1.0	+3.0		+1.3	+2.2	+.313
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		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Steve Francis	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2003-04	1996-97
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Steve Francis	79	40.4	16.6	1.5	4.0	5.5	6.2	1.8	0.4	3.7	3.3	5.7	14.1	.403	0.9	3.2	.292	4.3	5.5	.775
difference:	+28	+2.3	+9.6	+2.3	+4.7	+7.0	+3.1	+0.9	+2.5	-0.8	-0.2	+5.1	+5.3	+.154	+0.9	+3.1	+.292	+0.2	+3.9	+.291
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		%
Steve Francis	5	44.6	19.2	1.2	7.2	8.4	7.6	1.4	0.2	4.2	3.6	6.0	14.0	.429	1.4	3.4	.412	5.8	8.0	.725
difference:	+4	+8.4	+7.7	+3.0	+0.9	+2.2	+4.4	+0.8	+1.7	-1.8	-0.5	+3.9	+5.2	+.085	+1.4	+3.4		+1.3	+3.7	+.115
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
	Steve Francis	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2004-05	1997-98
Team	Orlando Magic	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Steve Francis	78	38.2	21.3	1.6	4.2	5.8	7.0	1.4	0.4	4.1	3.5	7.2	17.1	.423	0.5	1.6	.299	6.4	7.8	.823
difference:	+18	+1.9	+7.0	+1.9	+3.7	+5.6	+4.6	+0.7	+2.0	-1.2	-0.3	+4.0	+2.0	+.161	+0.5	+1.6		+0.4	+3.6	+.296
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		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Steve Francis	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2005-06	1998-99
Team	Orlando Magic, New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Steve Francis	70	34.2	14.4	1.1	3.1	4.1	4.9	1.1	0.2	3.1	2.9	4.8	10.9	.435	0.4	1.2	.301	4.5	5.7	.787
difference:	+21	+0.6	+11.9	+2.7	+3.8	+6.6	+2.6	+0.4	+1.5	-0.6	-0.3	+5.6	+7.2	+.141	+0.4	+1.2		+1.0	+4.5	+.247
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		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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
	Steve Francis	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2006-07	1999-00
Team	New York Knicks	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		%
Steve Francis	44	28.1	11.3	0.8	2.8	3.6	3.9	0.9	0.3	2.3	2.9	3.2	7.8	.408	1.0	2.5	.378	4.0	4.8	.829
difference:	+35	+11.9	+18.4	+3.5	+6.6	+10.0	+0.1	+0.4	+2.7	-0.5	-0.3	+8.9	+13.3	+.166	+1.0	+2.5		+1.5	+5.6	+.305
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		%
Steve Francis	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

Season 9
	Steve Francis	Shaquille O'Neal
Season	2007-08	2000-01
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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		%
Steve Francis	10	19.9	5.5	0.8	1.5	2.3	3.0	0.9	0.5	1.4	2.5	1.9	5.7	.333	0.4	1.7	.235	1.3	2.3	.565
difference:	+64	+19.6	+23.2	+3.1	+7.3	+10.4	+0.7	+0.3	+2.3	-1.5	-1.0	+9.1	+13.5	+.239	+0.4	+1.7		+5.4	+10.8	+.052
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steve Francis	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Additional Years
* Shaquille O'Neal played 10 seasons more than Steve Francis in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 19, from 2002 to 2011—Shaquille O'Neal played in 9 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 10 extra years over Steve Francis, Shaquille O'Neal got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 5 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 7 All-Star Game 2 All-Star Game MVP