Steve Nash vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Steve Nash 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 Steve Nash.
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 Steve Nash 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 9.4 points more than Steve Nash in his 18 seasons (23.7 points against 14.3), and he also scored a total of 11,209 points more (28,596 vs. 17,387).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Steve Nash | 14.3 | 18 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | +9.4 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Steve Nash | 17,387 | 18 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +11,209 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Steve Nash | 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 Steve Nash (+7 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,178).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Steve Nash | 17.3 | 12 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +7.0 | 17 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Steve Nash | 2,072 | 12 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +3,178 | 17 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Steve Nash | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Steve Nash | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Steve Nash | 309 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +517 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Steve Nash | 875 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | +257 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Steve Nash | 1,177 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | +28 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Steve Nash | 40 | +38 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Steve Nash | 48 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +100 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Steve Nash | 103 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | +103 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Steve Nash | 115 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | +100 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Steve Nash | 5 | +4 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Steve Nash | 14.3 | 5.2 | 10.6 | 49.0 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 42.8 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 90.4 | 18 | 1,217 |
| difference: | +9.4 | +4.2 | +5.5 | +9.2 | +1.4 | +3.2 | +38.3 | +2.4 | +6.5 | +37.7 | +1 | +10 |
| 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 | ||||
| Steve Nash | 17,387 | 6,321 | 12,892 | 49.0 | 1,685 | 3,939 | 42.8 | 3,060 | 3,384 | 90.4 | 18 | 1,217 |
| difference: | +11,209 | +5,009 | +6,565 | +9.2 | +1,684 | +3,917 | +38.3 | +2,875 | +7,868 | +37.7 | +1 | +10 |
| 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 | ||||
| Steve Nash | 17.3 | 6.2 | 13.2 | 47.3 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 40.6 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 90.0 | 12 | 120 |
| difference: | +7.0 | +3.2 | +3.6 | +9.0 | +1.5 | +3.7 | +40.6 | +2.1 | +7.0 | +39.6 | +5 | +96 |
| 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 | ||||
| Steve Nash | 2,072 | 749 | 1,584 | 47.3 | 178 | 438 | 40.6 | 396 | 440 | 90.0 | 12 | 120 |
| difference: | +3,178 | +1,292 | +2,043 | +9.0 | +178 | +438 | +40.6 | +772 | +1,877 | +39.6 | +5 | +96 |
| 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 2 seasons more than Steve Nash in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 19 to 20, 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 | |
| Steve Nash | 1.3 | +1.3 | 1997 | 4 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steve Nash | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 25.7 | +25.7 | 1995 | 21 |
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steve Nash | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 25.8 | +25.8 | 1996 | 12 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steve Nash | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 19.4 | +19.4 | 2005 | 13 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steve Nash | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 18.8 | +18.8 | 2007 | 4 |
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steve Nash | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 15.2 | +15.2 | 2008 | 5 |
Season 18 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steve Nash | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
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. |