Shaquille O'Neal vs. Trae Young: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Trae Young 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.

Trae Young and Shaquille O'Neal 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 Trae Young has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while Shaquille O'Neal scored more total points in both stages. 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 7 NBA regular seasons played, Trae Young averages 1.6 points more than Shaquille O'Neal in his 19 seasons (25.3 points against 23.7). On the other hand Shaquille O'Neal scored a total of 16,376 points more than Trae Young (28,596 vs. 12,220).

Points Per Game			Seasons
Shaquille O'Neal	23.7		19
Trae Young	25.3	+1.6	7

Total Points			Seasons
Shaquille O'Neal	28,596	+16,376	19
Trae Young	12,220		7

Scoring Titles
Shaquille O'Neal	2	+2
Trae Young	0

Points by Thresholds

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

= NBA Scoring Leader

= NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season	Points per game		Year	Games
Shaquille O'Neal	23.4	+4.3	1993	81
Trae Young	19.1		2019	81

Season 2	Points per game		Year	Games
Shaquille O'Neal	29.3		1994	81
Trae Young	29.6	+0.3	2020	60

Season 3	Points per game		Year	Games
Shaquille O'Neal	29.3	+4.0	1995	79
Trae Young	25.3		2021	63

Season 4	Points per game		Year	Games
Shaquille O'Neal	26.6		1996	54
Trae Young	28.4	+1.8	2022	76

Season 5	Points per game		Year	Games
Shaquille O'Neal	26.2		1997	51
Trae Young	26.2		2023	73

Season 6	Points per game		Year	Games
Shaquille O'Neal	28.3	+2.6	1998	60
Trae Young	25.7		2024	54

Season 7	Points per game		Year	Games
Shaquille O'Neal	26.3	+2.1	1999	49
Trae Young	24.2		2025	76

Shaquille O'Neal's additional seasons:

* Shaquille O'Neal played 12 seasons more than Trae Young in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 8 to 19, from 2000 to 2011—he averaged 21.6 points in a total of 752 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 29.7 ppg and his lowest 9.2. In those 12 extra years over Trae Young, Shaquille O'Neal won 1 scoring title.