Shaquille O'Neal vs. Karl-Anthony Towns: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Karl-Anthony Towns 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.
Shaquille O'Neal and Karl-Anthony Towns 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 has better scoring stats than Karl-Anthony Towns 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 0.7 points more than Karl-Anthony Towns in his 11 seasons (23.7 points against 23.0), and he also scored a total of 13,056 points more (28,596 vs. 15,540).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | +0.7 | 19 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 23.0 | 11 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +13,056 | 19 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 15,540 | 11 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 |  +2 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 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 Karl-Anthony Towns (+4.5 points per game) and he also scored more points (+4,261).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +4.5 | 17 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 19.8 | 5 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +4,261 | 17 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 989 | 5 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 2 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +376 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 450 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +479 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 653 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | +530 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 675 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | +2 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 12 | +12 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +121 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 27 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +159 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 47 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +165 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 50 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 0 | |||
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: | +0.7 | +1.0 | +6.1 | +1.7 | +4.4 | +35.4 | +0.4 | +4.0 | +31.2 | +8 | +532 | |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 23.0 | 8.4 | 16.1 | 52.2 | 1.7 | 4.4 | 39.9 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 83.9 | 11 | 675 |
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: | +13,056 | +5,656 | +8,583 | +6.1 | +1,170 | +2,916 | +35.4 | +2,914 | +7,652 | +31.2 | +8 | +532 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 15,540 | 5,674 | 10,874 | 52.2 | 1,171 | 2,938 | 39.9 | 3,021 | 3,600 | 83.9 | 11 | 675 |
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: | +4.5 | +2.5 | +2.3 | +8.7 | +1.5 | +4.3 | +35.0 | +1.0 | +5.4 | +32.7 | +12 | +166 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 19.8 | 6.9 | 14.5 | 47.6 | 1.5 | 4.3 | 35.0 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 83.1 | 5 | 50 |
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: | +4,261 | +1,695 | +2,900 | +8.7 | +75 | +214 | +35.0 | +946 | +2,050 | +32.7 | +12 | +166 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 989 | 346 | 727 | 47.6 | 75 | 214 | 35.0 | 222 | 267 | 83.1 | 5 | 50 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.4 | +5.1 | 1993 | 81 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 18.3 | 2016 | 82 | |
Shaquille O'Neal's additional seasons: | ||||
- Shaquille O'Neal played 8 seasons more than Karl-Anthony Towns in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 12 to 19, from 2004 to 2011—he averaged 17.5 points in a total of 465 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 22.9 ppg and his lowest 9.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1994 | 3 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 25.8 | +25.8 | 1996 | 12 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 26.9 | +26.9 | 1997 | 9 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 30.5 | +30.5 | 1998 | 13 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 27.0 | +27.0 | 2003 | 12 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Shaquille O'Neal's additional Playoffs: | ||||
- During his 8 additional NBA seasons, Shaquille O'Neal played in 7 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 17.9 points in a total of 80 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.5 ppg and his lowest 1. |