Yao Ming vs. Jermaine O'Neal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jermaine O'Neal and Yao Ming, 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 / Scoring / 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.

Yao Ming played 8 years in the NBA, 10 less than Jermaine O'Neal, who played 18. Yao Ming had the first of his seasons in 2002-03, while Jermaine O'Neal had his rookie season in 1996-97. 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
Yao Ming	8	4	2002-03 to 2010-11
Jermaine O'Neal	18	14	1996-97 to 2013-14

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


Rookie Season
	Yao Ming	Jermaine O'Neal
Season	2002-03	1996-97
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.5	.811
difference:	+37	+18.8	+9.4	+1.5	+3.9	+5.4	+1.5	+0.4	+1.2	-1.5	-1.8	+3.4	+6.4	+.047				+2.7	+2.8	+.208
Jermaine O'Neal	45	10.2	4.1	0.9	1.9	2.8	0.2	0.0	0.6	0.6	1.0	1.5	3.4	.451	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.7	.603

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jermaine O'Neal	2	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.5	.000	0.0	1.0	.000


Season 2
	Yao Ming	Jermaine O'Neal
Season	2003-04	1997-98
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West 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		%
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	5.4	.809
difference:	+22	+19.3	+13.0	+1.1	+4.6	+5.6	+1.2		+0.9	-1.6	-1.6	+4.6	+8.6	+.037				+3.6	+3.9	+.303
Jermaine O'Neal	60	13.5	4.5	1.3	2.0	3.4	0.3	0.3	1.0	0.9	1.7	1.9	3.9	.485	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.5	.506

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765
difference:	+4	+34.6	+15.0	+1.2	+5.2	+6.4	+1.8	+0.4	+0.6	-2.6	-3.0	+6.2	+10.6	+.456		+1.0		+2.6	+3.4
Jermaine O'Neal	1	3.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	3.0	.000	0.0	1.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-


Season 3
	Yao Ming	Jermaine O'Neal
Season	2004-05	1998-99
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 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		%
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783
difference:	+44	+22.0	+15.8	+1.4	+4.3	+5.7	+0.4	+0.3	+1.6	-2.1	-2.6	+5.7	+9.9	+.118				+4.4	+5.2	+.269
Jermaine O'Neal	36	8.6	2.5	1.2	1.5	2.7	0.4	0.1	0.4	0.4	1.1	1.0	2.3	.434	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	1.0	.514

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727
difference:	+2	+25.9	+19.8	+2.4	+3.4	+5.8	+0.6	+0.3	+2.4	-2.5	-3.2	+7.5	+10.9	+.255				+5.0	+6.6	+.227
Jermaine O'Neal	9	6.0	1.6	0.9	1.0	1.9	0.1	0.0	0.3	0.2	1.2	0.4	1.1	.400	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.3	.500


Season 4
	Yao Ming	Jermaine O'Neal
Season	2005-06	1999-00
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Trail Blazers Lost West 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		%
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	6.9	.853
difference:	+13	+21.9	+18.4	+1.2	+5.7	+6.9	+1.2	+0.3	+0.8	-1.9	-1.6	+6.7	+12.6	+.033				+5.1	+5.5	+.271
Jermaine O'Neal	70	12.3	3.9	1.4	1.9	3.3	0.3	0.2	0.8	0.7	1.8	1.5	3.2	.486	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.4	.582

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jermaine O'Neal	8	4.9	1.5	0.3	0.6	0.9	0.1	0.0	0.4	0.0	1.1	0.4	1.4	.273	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.1	.667


Season 5
	Yao Ming	Jermaine O'Neal
Season	2006-07	2000-01
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pacers 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		%
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	-	7.4	8.6	.862
difference:	+33	+1.2	+12.1	+1.0	+0.6	+0.4	+0.8	+0.2	+0.8	-1.5	-0.2	+3.8	+6.4	+.051		+0.1		+4.5	+3.8	+.261
Jermaine O'Neal	81	32.6	12.9	3.1	6.7	9.8	1.2	0.6	2.8	2.0	3.5	5.0	10.7	.465	0.0	0.1	.000	2.9	4.8	.601

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880
difference:	+3	+2.2	+15.3	+0.3	+2.5	+2.2	+0.9	+0.1	+1.8	-2.9	-0.6	+3.6	+8.1	+.004		+0.3		+8.1	+8.2	+.380
Jermaine O'Neal	4	39.3	9.8	3.0	9.5	12.5	1.8	0.0	2.5	1.8	3.3	4.3	9.8	.436	0.0	0.3	.000	1.3	2.5	.500


Season 6
	Yao Ming	Jermaine O'Neal
Season	2007-08	2001-02
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
	-	Most Improved Player
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	7.4	.850
difference:	+17	+0.4	+3.0	+0.5	+0.2	+0.3	+0.7	+0.1	+0.3	-0.9	-0.6	+0.4	+0.2	+.028		+0.2		+2.4	+1.7	+.162
Jermaine O'Neal	72	37.6	19.0	2.6	7.9	10.5	1.6	0.6	2.3	2.4	3.7	7.5	15.7	.479	0.0	0.2	.071	3.9	5.7	.688

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jermaine O'Neal	5	38.0	17.2	1.2	6.4	7.6	1.0	0.8	1.6	2.8	4.8	6.8	15.2	.447	0.0	0.2	.000	3.6	4.8	.750


Season 7
	Yao Ming	Jermaine O'Neal
Season	2008-09	2002-03
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	5.7	.866
difference:		+3.6	+1.1		+0.5	+0.4	+0.2	+0.5	+0.4	-0.7	-0.3	+0.5	+3.0	+.064	+0.1	+0.3		+0.1	+0.9	+.135
Jermaine O'Neal	77	37.2	20.8	2.6	7.7	10.3	2.0	0.9	2.3	2.3	3.6	7.9	16.4	.484	0.1	0.3	.333	4.8	6.6	.731

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902
difference:	+3	+9.6	+5.7	+1.9	+4.7	+6.6	+0.3	+0.1	+1.8	-1.1	-0.7	+1.2	+4.3	+.078		+0.5		+3.4	+5.1	+.117
Jermaine O'Neal	6	45.5	22.8	4.0	13.5	17.5	0.7	0.5	3.0	3.0	3.7	7.2	15.3	.467	0.0	0.5	.000	8.5	10.8	.785

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.


Season 8
	Yao Ming	Jermaine O'Neal
Season	2010-11	2003-04
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938
difference:	+73	+17.5	+9.9	+1.1	+3.5	+4.6	+1.3	+0.8	+1.0	-0.9	-0.6	+4.2	+10.5	+.052		+0.2		+1.5	+2.7	+.181
Jermaine O'Neal	78	35.7	20.1	2.5	7.5	10.0	2.1	0.8	2.6	2.3	3.2	7.8	17.9	.434	0.0	0.2	.111	4.5	5.9	.757

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jermaine O'Neal	16	37.6	19.2	1.8	7.3	9.1	1.2	0.5	2.3	1.8	3.3	7.2	17.0	.423	0.0	0.3	.000	4.8	6.9	.700


Additional Years
* Jermaine O'Neal played 10 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2005 to 2014—Jermaine O'Neal played in 6 Playoffs. In those 10 extra years over Yao Ming, Jermaine O'Neal got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	3 All-Star Game

Yao Ming vs. Jermaine O'Neal Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jermaine O'Neal and Yao Ming, 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