Jermaine O'Neal vs. Chris Paul: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Chris Paul and Jermaine O'Neal 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.

Chris Paul is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Jermaine O'Neal.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Chris Paul has better scoring stats than Jermaine O'Neal 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 20 NBA regular seasons played, Chris Paul averages 3.8 points more than Jermaine O'Neal in his 18 seasons (17.0 points against 13.2), and he also scored a total of 9,702 points more (23,011 vs. 13,309).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Jermaine O'Neal 13.2
18
Chris Paul 17.0
+3.8
20

Total Points

Seasons
Jermaine O'Neal 13,309
18
Chris Paul 23,011
+9,702
20

Points in the Playoffs

Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Chris Paul has a better career point average than Jermaine O'Neal (+8.4 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,857).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Jermaine O'Neal 11.6
14
Chris Paul 20.0
+8.4
15

Total Points

Playoffs
Jermaine O'Neal 1,124
14
Chris Paul 2,981
+1,857
15

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

50+ Point Games

Jermaine O'Neal 1
+1
Chris Paul 0

40+ Point Games

Jermaine O'Neal 1
Chris Paul 8
+7

30+ Point Games

Jermaine O'Neal 42
Chris Paul 77
+35

20+ Point Games

Jermaine O'Neal 266
Chris Paul 472
+206

10+ Point Games

Jermaine O'Neal 619
Chris Paul 1,133
+514

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Jermaine O'Neal 950
Chris Paul 1,350
+400

0 Point Games (games without points)

Jermaine O'Neal 61
+57
Chris Paul 4

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

Jermaine O'Neal 0
Chris Paul 2
+2

30+ Point Games

Jermaine O'Neal 3
Chris Paul 18
+15

20+ Point Games

Jermaine O'Neal 24
Chris Paul 74
+50

10+ Point Games

Jermaine O'Neal 52
Chris Paul 134
+82

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Jermaine O'Neal 82
Chris Paul 149
+67

0 Point Games (games without points)

Jermaine O'Neal 15
+15
Chris Paul 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jermaine O'Neal 13.2 5.1 10.9 46.7 0.0 0.1 14.7 3.0 4.2 71.5 18 1,011
difference:+3.8+0.9+1.9+0.3+1.4+3.6+22.3+0.6+0.1+15.6+2+343
Chris Paul 17.0 6.0 12.8 47.0 1.4 3.7 37.0 3.6 4.1 87.1 20 1,354

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jermaine O'Neal 13,309 5,144 11,025 46.7 14 95 14.7 3,007 4,208 71.5 18 1,011
difference:+9,702+3,003+6,327+0.3+1,846+4,934+22.3+1,850+1,371+15.6+2+343
Chris Paul 23,011 8,147 17,352 47.0 1,860 5,029 37.0 4,857 5,579 87.1 20 1,354

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jermaine O'Neal 11.6 4.3 10.0 42.6 0.0 0.2 0.0 3.1 4.3 71.8 14 97
difference:+8.4+3.1+5.3+5.8+1.6+4.2+37.3+0.4+0.2+13.6+1+52
Chris Paul 20.0 7.4 15.3 48.4 1.6 4.4 37.3 3.5 4.1 85.4 15 149

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Jermaine O'Neal 1,124 413 970 42.6 0 16 0.0 298 415 71.8 14 97
difference:+1,857+693+1,317+5.8+244+638+37.3+227+200+13.6+1+52
Chris Paul 2,981 1,106 2,287 48.4 244 654 37.3 525 615 85.4 15 149

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 4.1
199745
Chris Paul 16.1
+12.0
200678

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 4.5
199860
Chris Paul 17.3
+12.8
200764

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 2.5
199936
Chris Paul 21.1
+18.6
200880

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 3.9
200070
Chris Paul 22.8
+18.9
200978

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 12.9
200181
Chris Paul 18.7
+5.8
201045

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 19.0
+3.1
200272
Chris Paul 15.9
201180

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 20.8
+1.0
200377
Chris Paul 19.8
201260

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 20.1
+3.2
200478
Chris Paul 16.9
201370

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 24.3
+5.2
200544
Chris Paul 19.1
201462

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 20.1
+1.0
200651
Chris Paul 19.1
201582

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 19.4
200769
Chris Paul 19.5
+0.1
201674

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 13.6
200842
Chris Paul 18.1
+4.5
201761

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 13.3
200968
Chris Paul 18.6
+5.3
201858

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 13.6
201070
Chris Paul 15.6
+2.0
201958

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 5.4
201124
Chris Paul 17.6
+12.2
202070

Season 16

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 5.0
201225
Chris Paul 16.4
+11.4
202170

Season 17

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 8.3
201355
Chris Paul 14.7
+6.4
202265

Season 18

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 7.9
201444
Chris Paul 13.9
+6.0
202359

Chris Paul's additional seasons:

* Chris Paul played 2 seasons more than Jermaine O'Neal in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 19 to 20, from 2024 to 2025—he averaged 9.0 points in a total of 140 regular season games.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 0.0
19972
Chris Paul -
DNP
20060

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 0.0
19981
Chris Paul -
DNP
20070

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 1.6
19999
Chris Paul 24.1
+22.5
200812

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 1.5
20008
Chris Paul 16.6
+15.1
20095

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 9.8
+9.8
20014
Chris Paul -
DNP
20100

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 17.2
20025
Chris Paul 22.0
+4.8
20116

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 22.8
+5.2
20036
Chris Paul 17.6
201211

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 19.2
200416
Chris Paul 22.8
+3.6
20136

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 16.0
200513
Chris Paul 19.8
+3.8
201413

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 21.0
20066
Chris Paul 22.1
+1.1
201512

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal -
DNP
20070
Chris Paul 23.8
+23.8
20164

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal -
DNP
20080
Chris Paul 25.3
+25.3
20177

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 13.3
20096
Chris Paul 21.1
+7.8
201815

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 4.2
20105
Chris Paul 17.0
+12.8
201911

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 5.8
20119
Chris Paul 21.3
+15.5
20207

Season 16

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal -
DNP
20120
Chris Paul 19.2
+19.2
202120

Season 17

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal -
DNP
20130
Chris Paul 17.5
+17.5
202213

Season 18

Points per gameYearGames
Jermaine O'Neal 6.0
20147
Chris Paul 12.4
+6.4
20237

Chris Paul's additional Playoffs:

* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Chris Paul didn't play in the postseason.