Shaquille O'Neal vs. Gary Payton: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Gary Payton and Shaquille O'Neal 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 and Gary Payton are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 50,409 points—. Here we compare 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 has better scoring stats than Gary Payton 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 7.4 points more than Gary Payton in his 17 seasons (23.7 points against 16.3), and he also scored a total of 6,783 points more (28,596 vs. 21,813).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | +7.4 | 19 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 17 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +6,783 | 19 |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 17 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 |  +2 |
| Gary Payton | 0 | |
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 Gary Payton (+10.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,095).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +10.3 | 17 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 15 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +3,095 | 17 |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 15 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 3 | +3 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +311 | ||
| Gary Payton | 515 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +97 | ||
| Gary Payton | 1,035 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | |||
| Gary Payton | 1,304 | +99 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | |||
| Gary Payton | 31 | +29 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 12 | +12 | ||
| Gary Payton | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +101 | ||
| Gary Payton | 47 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +114 | ||
| Gary Payton | 92 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +65 | ||
| Gary Payton | 150 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
| Gary Payton | 4 | +3 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| 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 |
| difference: | +7.4 | +2.9 | +2.1 | +11.7 | +0.8 | +2.7 | +27.2 | +2.5 | +5.9 | +20.2 | +2 | +128 |
| Gary Payton | 16.3 | 6.5 | 14.0 | 46.6 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 31.7 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | 11,330 | 19,457 | 58.2 | 1 | 22 | 4.5 | 5,935 | 11,252 | 52.7 | 19 | 1,207 |
| difference: | +6,783 | +2,622 | +759 | +11.7 | +1,131 | +3,548 | +27.2 | +2,670 | +6,772 | +20.2 | +2 | +128 |
| Gary Payton | 21,813 | 8,708 | 18,698 | 46.6 | 1,132 | 3,570 | 31.7 | 3,265 | 4,480 | 72.9 | 17 | 1,335 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | 9.4 | 16.8 | 56.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | - | 5.4 | 10.7 | 50.4 | 17 | 216 |
| difference: | +10.3 | +3.8 | +4.2 | +12.2 | +0.9 | +2.8 | +31.5 | +3.4 | +7.9 | +20.2 | +2 | +62 |
| Gary Payton | 14.0 | 5.6 | 12.6 | 44.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 31.5 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | 2,041 | 3,627 | 56.3 | 0 | 0 | - | 1,168 | 2,317 | 50.4 | 17 | 216 |
| difference: | +3,095 | +1,186 | +1,689 | +12.2 | +137 | +435 | +31.5 | +860 | +1,881 | +20.2 | +2 | +62 |
| Gary Payton | 2,155 | 855 | 1,938 | 44.1 | 137 | 435 | 31.5 | 308 | 436 | 70.6 | 15 | 154 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Shaquille O'Neal's additional seasons: | ||||
* Shaquille O'Neal played 2 seasons more than Gary Payton in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 18 to 19, from 2010 to 2011—he averaged 10.9 points in a total of 90 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 4.8 | +4.8 | 1991 | 5 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 30.4 | +30.4 | 2001 | 16 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 27.0 | +27.0 | 2003 | 12 |
| Gary Payton | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
| Gary Payton | 0.0 | 2007 | 2 | |
Shaquille O'Neal's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Shaquille O'Neal played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 9.9 points in a total of 13 games. |