Manu Ginobili vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Manu Ginobili 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 Manu Ginobili.
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 Manu Ginobili 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 10.4 points more than Manu Ginobili in his 16 seasons (23.7 points against 13.3), and he also scored a total of 14,553 points more (28,596 vs. 14,043).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Manu Ginobili | 13.3 | 16 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | +10.4 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Manu Ginobili | 14,043 | 16 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +14,553 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Manu Ginobili | 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 Manu Ginobili (+10.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,196).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Manu Ginobili | 14.0 | 15 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +10.3 | 17 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Manu Ginobili | 3,054 | 15 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +2,196 | 17 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 205 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +621 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 698 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +434 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 1,041 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | +164 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 16 | +14 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 12 | +12 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 53 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +95 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 147 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +59 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 211 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +4 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 7 | +6 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 13.3 | 4.3 | 9.7 | 44.7 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 36.9 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 82.7 | 16 | 1,057 |
| difference: | +10.4 | +5.1 | +6.4 | +13.6 | +1.4 | +3.8 | +32.4 | +1.7 | +5.4 | +30.0 | +3 | +150 |
| 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 | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 14,043 | 4,584 | 10,262 | 44.7 | 1,495 | 4,055 | 36.9 | 3,380 | 4,089 | 82.7 | 16 | 1,057 |
| difference: | +14,553 | +6,746 | +9,195 | +13.6 | +1,494 | +4,033 | +32.4 | +2,555 | +7,163 | +30.0 | +3 | +150 |
| 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 | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 14.0 | 4.4 | 10.1 | 43.3 | 1.5 | 4.2 | 35.8 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 81.7 | 15 | 218 |
| difference: | +10.3 | +5.0 | +6.7 | +13.0 | +1.5 | +4.2 | +35.8 | +1.6 | +6.1 | +31.3 | +2 | +2 |
| 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 | ||||
| Manu Ginobili | 3,054 | 956 | 2,209 | 43.3 | 324 | 905 | 35.8 | 818 | 1,001 | 81.7 | 15 | 218 |
| difference: | +2,196 | +1,085 | +1,418 | +13.0 | +324 | +905 | +35.8 | +350 | +1,316 | +31.3 | +2 | +2 |
| 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 Manu Ginobili in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 17 to 20, 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 | |
| Manu Ginobili | 9.4 | +9.4 | 2003 | 24 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Manu Ginobili | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 26.6 | +26.6 | 1999 | 8 |
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. |