Shawn Kemp vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Shawn Kemp 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 Shawn Kemp.
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 Shawn Kemp 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 9.1 points more than Shawn Kemp in his 14 seasons (23.7 points against 14.6), and he also scored a total of 13,249 points more (28,596 vs. 15,347).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 14.6 | 14 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | +9.1 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 15,347 | 14 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +13,249 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 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 Shawn Kemp (+7 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,728).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 17.3 | 10 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +7.0 | 17 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 1,522 | 10 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +3,728 | 17 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 305 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +521 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 751 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +381 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 1,014 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | +191 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 37 | +35 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 12 | +12 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 39 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +109 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 72 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +134 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 86 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +129 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 2 | +1 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 14.6 | 5.2 | 10.7 | 48.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 27.7 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 74.1 | 14 | 1,051 |
| difference: | +9.1 | +4.2 | +5.4 | +9.4 | +0.1 | +23.2 | +0.8 | +3.8 | +21.4 | +5 | +156 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 15,347 | 5,505 | 11,278 | 48.8 | 33 | 119 | 27.7 | 4,304 | 5,805 | 74.1 | 14 | 1,051 |
| difference: | +13,249 | +5,825 | +8,179 | +9.4 | +32 | +97 | +23.2 | +1,631 | +5,447 | +21.4 | +5 | +156 |
| 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 | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 17.3 | 5.8 | 11.7 | 49.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 20.0 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 79.7 | 10 | 88 |
| difference: | +7.0 | +3.6 | +5.1 | +6.5 | +0.2 | +20.0 | +0.2 | +3.7 | +29.3 | +7 | +128 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Shawn Kemp | 1,522 | 514 | 1,032 | 49.8 | 3 | 15 | 20.0 | 491 | 616 | 79.7 | 10 | 88 |
| difference: | +3,728 | +1,527 | +2,595 | +6.5 | +3 | +15 | +20.0 | +677 | +1,701 | +29.3 | +7 | +128 |
| 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 6 seasons more than Shawn Kemp in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 20, from 2007 to 2011—he averaged 14.3 points in a total of 327 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 | |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 1990 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28.5 | +28.5 | 2002 | 19 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 27.0 | +27.0 | 2003 | 12 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 21.5 | +21.5 | 2004 | 22 |
Shaquille O'Neal's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, Shaquille O'Neal played in 5 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 13.2 points in a total of 27 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 18.8 ppg and his lowest 1. |