Shaquille O'Neal vs. Klay Thompson: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Klay Thompson 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 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 Klay Thompson.
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 Klay Thompson 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 4.9 points more than Klay Thompson in his 13 seasons (23.7 points against 18.8), and he also scored a total of 11,713 points more (28,596 vs. 16,883).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | +4.9 | 19 |
| Klay Thompson | 18.8 | 13 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +11,713 | 19 |
| Klay Thompson | 16,883 | 13 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 |  +2 |
| Klay Thompson | 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 Klay Thompson (+5.1 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,218).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +5.1 | 17 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.2 | 9 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +2,218 | 17 |
| Klay Thompson | 3,032 | 9 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +431 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 395 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +348 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 784 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | +315 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 890 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 6 | +4 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +73 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 75 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +63 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 143 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +57 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 158 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 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: | +4.9 | +2.4 | +0.5 | +13.4 | +3.1 | +7.6 | +36.4 | +3.2 | +7.3 | +33.0 | +6 | +311 |
| Klay Thompson | 18.8 | 7.0 | 15.6 | 44.9 | 3.1 | 7.6 | 40.9 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 85.7 | 13 | 896 |
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: | +11,713 | +5,052 | +5,467 | +13.4 | +2,781 | +6,781 | +36.4 | +4,390 | +9,450 | +33.0 | +6 | +311 |
| Klay Thompson | 16,883 | 6,278 | 13,990 | 44.9 | 2,782 | 6,803 | 40.9 | 1,545 | 1,802 | 85.7 | 13 | 896 |
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: | +5.1 | +2.3 | +0.4 | +12.7 | +3.2 | +7.8 | +40.5 | +3.6 | +8.6 | +34.1 | +8 | +58 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.2 | 7.1 | 16.4 | 43.6 | 3.2 | 7.8 | 40.5 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 84.5 | 9 | 158 |
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: | +2,218 | +915 | +1,042 | +12.7 | +501 | +1,237 | +40.5 | +889 | +1,987 | +34.1 | +8 | +58 |
| Klay Thompson | 3,032 | 1,126 | 2,585 | 43.6 | 501 | 1,237 | 40.5 | 279 | 330 | 84.5 | 9 | 158 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Shaquille O'Neal's additional seasons: | ||||
- Shaquille O'Neal played 6 seasons more than Klay Thompson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 19, from 2006 to 2011—he averaged 15.4 points in a total of 325 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 20 ppg and his lowest 9.2. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 27.0 | +27.0 | 2003 | 12 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 21.5 | +21.5 | 2004 | 22 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 19.4 | +19.4 | 2005 | 13 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Shaquille O'Neal's additional Playoffs: | ||||
- During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Shaquille O'Neal played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those postseasons he averaged 15.6 points in a total of 45 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 18.8 ppg and his lowest 1. |