Kevin Love vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Love 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 Kevin Love.
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 Kevin Love 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 7.5 points more than Kevin Love in his 17 seasons (23.7 points against 16.2), and he also scored a total of 13,175 points more (28,596 vs. 15,421).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Kevin Love | 16.2 | 17 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | +7.5 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Kevin Love | 15,421 | 17 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +13,175 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Kevin Love | 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 Kevin Love (+11.7 points per game) and he also scored more points (+4,138).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Kevin Love | 12.6 | 6 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +11.7 | 17 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Kevin Love | 1,112 | 6 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +4,138 | 17 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Love | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Love | 321 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +505 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Love | 722 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +410 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kevin Love | 929 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | +276 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kevin Love | 23 | +21 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Love | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 12 | +12 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Love | 20 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +128 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kevin Love | 49 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +157 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kevin Love | 83 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +132 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kevin Love | 5 | +4 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kevin Love | 16.2 | 5.3 | 12.2 | 43.8 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 36.9 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 82.8 | 17 | 952 |
| difference: | +7.5 | +4.1 | +3.9 | +14.4 | +1.8 | +4.8 | +32.4 | +1.1 | +4.7 | +30.1 | +2 | +255 |
| 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 | ||||
| Kevin Love | 15,421 | 5,074 | 11,584 | 43.8 | 1,674 | 4,542 | 36.9 | 3,599 | 4,346 | 82.8 | 17 | 952 |
| difference: | +13,175 | +6,256 | +7,873 | +14.4 | +1,673 | +4,520 | +32.4 | +2,336 | +6,906 | +30.1 | +2 | +255 |
| 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 | ||||
| Kevin Love | 12.6 | 4.1 | 10.3 | 40.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 39.7 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 85.5 | 6 | 88 |
| difference: | +11.7 | +5.3 | +6.5 | +16.2 | +2.0 | +5.0 | +39.7 | +3.0 | +7.9 | +35.1 | +11 | +128 |
| 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 | ||||
| Kevin Love | 1,112 | 362 | 904 | 40.0 | 175 | 441 | 39.7 | 213 | 249 | 85.5 | 6 | 88 |
| difference: | +4,138 | +1,679 | +2,723 | +16.2 | +175 | +441 | +39.7 | +955 | +2,068 | +35.1 | +11 | +128 |
| 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 3 seasons more than Kevin Love in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 18 to 20, from 2009 to 2011—he averaged 14.0 points in a total of 165 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 17.8 ppg and his lowest 9.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1994 | 3 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 25.7 | +25.7 | 1995 | 21 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 25.8 | +25.8 | 1996 | 12 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 26.9 | +26.9 | 1997 | 9 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 30.5 | +30.5 | 1998 | 13 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 27.0 | +27.0 | 2003 | 12 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 21.5 | +21.5 | 2004 | 22 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 19.4 | +19.4 | 2005 | 13 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 18.4 | +18.4 | 2006 | 23 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kevin Love | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 15.2 | +15.2 | 2008 | 5 |
Shaquille O'Neal's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, Shaquille O'Neal played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 9.9 points in a total of 13 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 11.5 ppg and his lowest 1. |