Baron Davis vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Baron Davis to determine who has the better numbers. Here you can compare their career totals, points per game, games of 40+ points, 50+, etc. and their year-by-year scoring averages side by side, both in the Regular Season and Playoffs.

Shaquille O'Neal is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and also has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Baron Davis.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Shaquille O'Neal has better scoring stats than Baron Davis in averages and totals, both in the regular season and Playoffs. However, we won't stop there and we'll go into detail to analyze what these statistics are made up of, from how many games they had in each threshold (30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc.) to their season-by-season scoring averages.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 19 NBA regular seasons played, Shaquille O'Neal averages 7.6 points more than Baron Davis in his 13 seasons (23.7 points against 16.1), and he also scored a total of 15,149 points more (28,596 vs. 13,447).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Baron Davis 16.1
13
Shaquille O'Neal 23.7
+7.6
19

Total Points

Seasons
Baron Davis 13,447
13
Shaquille O'Neal 28,596
+15,149
19

Scoring Titles

Baron Davis 0
Shaquille O'Neal 2
Scoring leaderScoring leader
+2

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Shaquille O'Neal has a better career point average than Baron Davis (+5.5 points per game) and he also scored more points (+4,308).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Baron Davis 18.8
7
Shaquille O'Neal 24.3
+5.5
17

Total Points

Playoffs
Baron Davis 942
7
Shaquille O'Neal 5,250
+4,308
17

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

Baron Davis 0
Shaquille O'Neal 1
+1

50+ Point Games

Baron Davis 0
Shaquille O'Neal 3
+3

40+ Point Games

Baron Davis 2
Shaquille O'Neal 49
+47

30+ Point Games

Baron Davis 44
Shaquille O'Neal 313
+269

20+ Point Games

Baron Davis 278
Shaquille O'Neal 826
+548

10+ Point Games

Baron Davis 646
Shaquille O'Neal 1,132
+486

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Baron Davis 826
Shaquille O'Neal 1,205
+379

0 Point Games (games without points)

Baron Davis 9
+7
Shaquille O'Neal 2

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Baron Davis 0
Shaquille O'Neal 12
+12

30+ Point Games

Baron Davis 7
Shaquille O'Neal 55
+48

20+ Point Games

Baron Davis 25
Shaquille O'Neal 148
+123

10+ Point Games

Baron Davis 42
Shaquille O'Neal 206
+164

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Baron Davis 50
Shaquille O'Neal 215
+165

0 Point Games (games without points)

Baron Davis 0
Shaquille O'Neal 1
+1

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Baron Davis 16.1 5.9 14.3 40.9 1.6 5.0 32.0 2.8 3.9 71.1 13 835
difference:+7.6+3.5+1.8+17.3+1.6+5.0+27.5+2.1+5.4+18.4+6+372
Shaquille O'Neal 23.7 9.4 16.1 58.2 0.0 0.0 4.5 4.9 9.3 52.7 19 1,207

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Baron Davis 13,447 4,888 11,951 40.9 1,332 4,159 32.0 2,339 3,292 71.1 13 835
difference:+15,149+6,442+7,506+17.3+1,331+4,137+27.5+3,596+7,960+18.4+6+372
Shaquille O'Neal 28,596 11,330 19,457 58.2 1 22 4.5 5,935 11,252 52.7 19 1,207

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Baron Davis 18.8 6.6 14.9 44.2 2.0 5.7 35.0 3.7 5.2 70.9 7 50
difference:+5.5+2.8+1.9+12.1+2.0+5.7+35.0+1.7+5.5+20.5+10+166
Shaquille O'Neal 24.3 9.4 16.8 56.3 0.0 0.0 - 5.4 10.7 50.4 17 216

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Baron Davis 942 329 745 44.2 99 283 35.0 185 261 70.9 7 50
difference:+4,308+1,712+2,882+12.1+99+283+35.0+983+2,056+20.5+10+166
Shaquille O'Neal 5,250 2,041 3,627 56.3 0 0 - 1,168 2,317 50.4 17 216

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Scoring leader= NBA Scoring Leader
NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 5.9
200082
Shaquille O'Neal 23.4
+17.5
199381

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 13.8
200182
Shaquille O'Neal 29.3
+15.5
199481

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 18.1
200282
Shaquille O'Neal Scoring leader29.3
+11.2
199579

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 17.1
200350
Shaquille O'Neal 26.6
+9.5
199654

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 22.9
200467
Shaquille O'Neal 26.2
+3.3
199751

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 19.2
200546
Shaquille O'Neal 28.3
+9.1
199860

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 19.2
200546
Shaquille O'Neal 26.3
+7.1
199949

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 19.2
200546
Shaquille O'Neal Scoring leader29.7
+10.5
2000NBA Champion79

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 17.9
200654
Shaquille O'Neal 28.7
+10.8
2001NBA Champion74

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 20.1
200763
Shaquille O'Neal 27.2
+7.1
2002NBA Champion67

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 21.8
200882
Shaquille O'Neal 27.5
+5.7
200367

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 14.9
200965
Shaquille O'Neal 21.5
+6.6
200467

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 15.3
201075
Shaquille O'Neal 22.9
+7.6
200573

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 13.1
201158
Shaquille O'Neal 20.0
+6.9
2006NBA Champion59

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 6.1
201229
Shaquille O'Neal 17.3
+11.2
200740

Shaquille O'Neal's additional seasons:

- Shaquille O'Neal played 4 seasons more than Baron Davis in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 16 to 19, from 2008 to 2011—he averaged 13.9 points in a total of 226 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 17.8 ppg and his lowest 9.2.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 5.8
+5.8
20004
Shaquille O'Neal -
DNP
19930

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 17.8
200110
Shaquille O'Neal 20.7
+2.9
19943

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 22.6
20029
Shaquille O'Neal 25.7
+3.1
199521

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 20.4
20035
Shaquille O'Neal 25.8
+5.4
199612

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 18.1
20047
Shaquille O'Neal 26.9
+8.8
19979

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis -
DNP
20050
Shaquille O'Neal 30.5
+30.5
199813

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis -
DNP
20050
Shaquille O'Neal 26.6
+26.6
19998

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis -
DNP
20050
Shaquille O'Neal 30.7
+30.7
2000NBA Champion23

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis -
DNP
20060
Shaquille O'Neal 30.4
+30.4
2001NBA Champion16

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 25.3
200711
Shaquille O'Neal 28.5
+3.2
2002NBA Champion19

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis -
DNP
20080
Shaquille O'Neal 27.0
+27.0
200312

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis -
DNP
20090
Shaquille O'Neal 21.5
+21.5
200422

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis -
DNP
20100
Shaquille O'Neal 19.4
+19.4
200513

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis -
DNP
20110
Shaquille O'Neal 18.4
+18.4
2006NBA Champion23

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Baron Davis 7.8
20124
Shaquille O'Neal 18.8
+11.0
20074

Shaquille O'Neal's additional Playoffs:

- During his 4 additional NBA seasons, Shaquille O'Neal played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 11.4 points in a total of 18 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 15.2 ppg and his lowest 1.