LeBron James vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James 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
LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—with LeBron as the all-time leader they combine for an staggering season total of 70,780 points—and they also have two of the all-time best scoring averages. 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 LeBron James has better scoring stats than Shaquille 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.
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 22 NBA regular seasons played, LeBron James averages 3.3 points more than Shaquille O'Neal in his 19 seasons (27.0 points against 23.7), and he also scored a total of 13,588 points more (42,184 vs. 28,596).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 27.0 | +3.3 | 22 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | 19 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| LeBron James | 42,184 | +13,588 | 22 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | 19 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| LeBron James | 1 |  |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | +1 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason LeBron James has a better career point average than Shaquille O'Neal (+4.1 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,039).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 28.4 | +4.1 | 18 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | 17 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | +3,039 | 18 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | 17 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,286 | +460 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,554 | +422 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 1,562 | +357 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | +2 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 1 | +1 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 261 | +113 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| LeBron James | 290 | +84 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 292 | +77 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| LeBron James | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| LeBron James | 27.0 | 9.9 | 19.6 | 50.6 | 1.6 | 4.7 | 34.9 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 73.7 | 22 | 1,562 |
| difference: | +3.3 | +0.5 | +3.5 | +7.6 | +1.6 | +4.7 | +30.4 | +0.6 | +1.8 | +21.0 | +3 | +355 |
| 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 | ||||
| LeBron James | 42,184 | 15,488 | 30,583 | 50.6 | 2,559 | 7,322 | 34.9 | 8,649 | 11,735 | 73.7 | 22 | 1,562 |
| difference: | +13,588 | +4,158 | +11,126 | +7.6 | +2,558 | +7,300 | +30.4 | +2,714 | +483 | +21.0 | +3 | +355 |
| 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 | ||||
| LeBron James | 28.4 | 10.2 | 20.5 | 49.6 | 1.6 | 4.9 | 33.3 | 6.4 | 8.6 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
| difference: | +4.1 | +0.8 | +3.7 | +6.6 | +1.6 | +4.9 | +33.3 | +1.0 | +2.1 | +23.7 | +1 | +76 |
| 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 | ||||
| LeBron James | 8,289 | 2,971 | 5,984 | 49.6 | 480 | 1,443 | 33.3 | 1,867 | 2,519 | 74.1 | 18 | 292 |
| difference: | +3,039 | +930 | +2,357 | +6.6 | +480 | +1,443 | +33.3 | +699 | +202 | +23.7 | +1 | +76 |
| 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
LeBron James' additional seasons: | ||||
* LeBron James played 3 seasons more than Shaquille O'Neal in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 20 to 22, from 2023 to 2025—he averaged 26.1 points in a total of 196 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 28.9 ppg and his lowest 24.4. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1994 | 3 |
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 15.2 | +15.2 | 2008 | 5 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | 27.6 | +27.6 | 2020 | 21 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
Season 19 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| LeBron James | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1.0 | +1.0 | 2011 | 2 |
LeBron James' additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, LeBron James played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 25.3 points in a total of 26 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 27.8 ppg and his lowest 24.5. |