Dwight Howard vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard 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.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
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 Dwight Howard.
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 Dwight Howard 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.
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 19 NBA regular seasons played, Shaquille O'Neal averages 8 points more than Dwight Howard in his 18 seasons (23.7 points against 15.7), and he also scored a total of 9,111 points more (28,596 vs. 19,485).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Dwight Howard | 15.7 | 18 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | +8.0 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Dwight Howard | 19,485 | 18 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +9,111 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Dwight Howard | 0 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 |  +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 Dwight Howard (+9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,341).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Dwight Howard | 15.3 | 12 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +9.0 | 17 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Dwight Howard | 1,909 | 12 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +3,341 | 17 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 391 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +435 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 955 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +177 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 1,227 | +22 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 15 | +13 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 42 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +106 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 86 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +120 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 121 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +94 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 4 | +3 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 15.7 | 5.7 | 9.7 | 58.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 21.4 | 4.3 | 7.6 | 56.7 | 18 | 1,242 |
| difference: | +8.0 | +3.7 | +6.4 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +16.9 | +0.6 | +1.7 | +4.0 | +1 | +35 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 19,485 | 7,051 | 12,016 | 58.7 | 22 | 103 | 21.4 | 5,361 | 9,455 | 56.7 | 18 | 1,242 |
| difference: | +9,111 | +4,279 | +7,441 | +0.4 | +21 | +81 | +16.9 | +574 | +1,797 | +4.0 | +1 | +35 |
| 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 | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 15.3 | 5.4 | 9.2 | 58.9 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 14.3 | 4.4 | 8.0 | 54.8 | 12 | 125 |
| difference: | +9.0 | +4.0 | +7.6 | +2.6 | +0.1 | +14.3 | +1.0 | +2.7 | +4.4 | +5 | +91 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Dwight Howard | 1,909 | 681 | 1,156 | 58.9 | 1 | 7 | 14.3 | 546 | 997 | 54.8 | 12 | 125 |
| difference: | +3,341 | +1,360 | +2,471 | +2.6 | +1 | +7 | +14.3 | +622 | +1,320 | +4.4 | +5 | +91 |
| 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 1 season more than Dwight Howard in the NBA. In that year—his season 19 in 2011—he averaged 9.2 points in a total of 37 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1994 | 3 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 30.7 | +30.7 | 2000 | 23 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 18.4 | +18.4 | 2006 | 23 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 18.8 | +18.8 | 2007 | 4 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | 4.7 | +4.7 | 2021 | 12 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
Season 18 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Dwight Howard | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 11.5 | +11.5 | 2010 | 11 |
Shaquille O'Neal's additional Playoffs: | ||||
- In his additional NBA year, Shaquille O'Neal played in the Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 1.0 points in a total of 2 games. |