Kyrie Irving vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Kyrie Irving 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.
and 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 Shaquille O'Neal scored more total points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has a better playoff average while they have the same scoring average in the regular season (rounded to one decimal). 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 |
Note: on this page, the numbers used to compare per game stats are rounded to one decimal.
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
Kyrie Irving and Shaquille O'Neal are tied in points per game (rounded to one decimal) with and average of 23.7 points but Shaquille O'Neal scored a total of 10,163 points more than Kyrie Irving (28,596 vs. 18,433).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | 14 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | 19 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 14 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +10,163 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 0 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 |  +2 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Shaquille O'Neal has a better career point average than Kyrie Irving (+1.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,039).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | 7 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +1.3 | 17 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 7 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +3,039 | 17 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 1 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 535 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +291 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 739 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +393 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 777 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | +428 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 2 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 66 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +82 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 92 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +114 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 96 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +119 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | 8.7 | 18.4 | 47.4 | 2.4 | 6.1 | 39.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
| difference: | +0.7 | +2.3 | +10.8 | +2.4 | +6.1 | +34.9 | +1.1 | +5.0 | +36.1 | +5 | +428 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 6,787 | 14,313 | 47.4 | 1,876 | 4,763 | 39.4 | 2,983 | 3,360 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
| difference: | +10,163 | +4,543 | +5,144 | +10.8 | +1,875 | +4,741 | +34.9 | +2,952 | +7,892 | +36.1 | +5 | +428 |
| 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 | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | 8.5 | 18.6 | 45.8 | 2.3 | 6.0 | 39.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
| difference: | +1.3 | +0.9 | +1.8 | +10.5 | +2.3 | +6.0 | +39.2 | +1.7 | +6.5 | +37.9 | +10 | +120 |
| 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 | ||||
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 815 | 1,781 | 45.8 | 225 | 574 | 39.2 | 356 | 403 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
| difference: | +3,039 | +1,226 | +1,846 | +10.5 | +225 | +574 | +39.2 | +812 | +1,914 | +37.9 | +10 | +120 |
| 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 4 seasons more than Kyrie Irving 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 game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1994 | 3 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 25.7 | +25.7 | 1995 | 21 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 26.6 | +26.6 | 1999 | 8 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 30.4 | +30.4 | 2001 | 16 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 21.5 | +21.5 | 2004 | 22 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 19.4 | +19.4 | 2005 | 13 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 18.8 | +18.8 | 2007 | 4 |
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. |