Penny Hardaway vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway 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 Penny Hardaway.
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 Penny Hardaway 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 8.5 points more than Penny Hardaway in his 14 seasons (23.7 points against 15.2), and he also scored a total of 17,912 points more (28,596 vs. 10,684).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 15.2 | 14 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | +8.5 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 10,684 | 14 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +17,912 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 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 Penny Hardaway (+3.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,946).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 20.4 | 8 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +3.9 | 17 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 1,304 | 8 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +3,946 | 17 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 215 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +611 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 502 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +630 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 683 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | +522 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 21 | +19 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 26 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +122 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 62 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +144 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 64 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +151 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 15.2 | 5.7 | 12.4 | 45.8 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 31.6 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 77.4 | 14 | 704 |
| difference: | +8.5 | +3.7 | +3.7 | +12.5 | +0.7 | +2.3 | +27.1 | +1.8 | +5.3 | +24.7 | +5 | +503 |
| 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 | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 10,684 | 3,995 | 8,731 | 45.8 | 503 | 1,591 | 31.6 | 2,191 | 2,831 | 77.4 | 14 | 704 |
| difference: | +17,912 | +7,335 | +10,726 | +12.5 | +502 | +1,569 | +27.1 | +3,744 | +8,421 | +24.7 | +5 | +503 |
| 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 | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 20.4 | 7.1 | 15.9 | 44.8 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 38.0 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 74.6 | 8 | 64 |
| difference: | +3.9 | +2.3 | +0.9 | +11.5 | +1.6 | +4.2 | +38.0 | +0.9 | +4.6 | +24.2 | +9 | +152 |
| 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 | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 1,304 | 456 | 1,018 | 44.8 | 101 | 266 | 38.0 | 291 | 390 | 74.6 | 8 | 64 |
| difference: | +3,946 | +1,585 | +2,609 | +11.5 | +101 | +266 | +38.0 | +877 | +1,927 | +24.2 | +9 | +152 |
| 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 Penny Hardaway 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 | |
| Penny Hardaway | 18.7 | +18.7 | 1994 | 3 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 26.9 | +26.9 | 1997 | 9 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 30.7 | +30.7 | 2000 | 23 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 30.4 | +30.4 | 2001 | 16 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 19.4 | +19.4 | 2005 | 13 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 18.4 | +18.4 | 2006 | 23 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2008 | 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. |