Donovan Mitchell vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Donovan Mitchell 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.
Donovan Mitchell and Shaquille O'Neal have two of the highest career scoring averages in league history (Shaquille O'Neal is also one of the all-time leaders in total points) and here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Donovan Mitchell has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Shaquille O'Neal scored more total points in both stages. 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.
On this page we compare: |
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Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 9 NBA regular seasons played, Donovan Mitchell averages 1.3 points more than Shaquille O'Neal in his 19 seasons (25.0 points against 23.7). On the other hand Shaquille O'Neal scored a total of 14,360 points more than Donovan Mitchell (28,596 vs. 14,236).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 25.0 | +1.3 | 9 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | 19 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 14,236 | 9 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +14,360 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 0 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 |  +2 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Donovan Mitchell has a better career point average than Shaquille O'Neal (+4 points per game) while Shaquille O'Neal scored more points (+3,467).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 28.3 | +4.0 | 8 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | 17 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 1,783 | 8 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +3,467 | 17 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 1 | +1 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 0 | |||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 1 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 415 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +411 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 550 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +582 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 570 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | +635 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | +2 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 3 | +3 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 51 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +97 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 62 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +144 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 63 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +152 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 25.0 | 8.8 | 19.6 | 45.2 | 3.1 | 8.3 | 36.7 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 84.1 | 9 | 570 |
| difference: | +1.3 | +0.6 | +3.5 | +13.1 | +3.1 | +8.3 | +32.2 | +0.7 | +4.3 | +31.4 | +10 | +637 |
| 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 | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 14,236 | 5,041 | 11,164 | 45.2 | 1,739 | 4,733 | 36.7 | 2,415 | 2,872 | 84.1 | 9 | 570 |
| difference: | +14,360 | +6,289 | +8,293 | +13.1 | +1,738 | +4,711 | +32.2 | +3,520 | +8,380 | +31.4 | +10 | +637 |
| 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 | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 28.3 | 9.8 | 22.3 | 44.0 | 3.2 | 8.9 | 35.5 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 82.5 | 8 | 63 |
| difference: | +4.0 | +0.4 | +5.5 | +12.3 | +3.2 | +8.9 | +35.5 | +0.2 | +4.0 | +32.1 | +9 | +153 |
| 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 | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell | 1,783 | 617 | 1,403 | 44.0 | 199 | 561 | 35.5 | 350 | 424 | 82.5 | 8 | 63 |
| difference: | +3,467 | +1,424 | +2,224 | +12.3 | +199 | +561 | +35.5 | +818 | +1,893 | +32.1 | +9 | +153 |
| 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
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Shaquille O'Neal's additional seasons: | ||||
- Shaquille O'Neal played 10 seasons more than Donovan Mitchell in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 10 to 19, from 2002 to 2011—he averaged 19.7 points in a total of 599 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 27.5 ppg and his lowest 9.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Donovan Mitchell | 24.4 | +24.4 | 2018 | 11 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Donovan Mitchell | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 30.4 | +30.4 | 2001 | 16 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Shaquille O'Neal's additional Playoffs: | ||||
- During his 10 additional NBA seasons, Shaquille O'Neal played in 9 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those postseasons he averaged 20.7 points in a total of 111 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 28.5 ppg and his lowest 1. |