Tim Duncan vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan 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 and Tim Duncan are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 55,092 points—. Here we compare 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 Tim Duncan 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 4.7 points more than Tim Duncan in his 19 seasons (23.7 points against 19.0), and he also scored a total of 2,100 points more (28,596 vs. 26,496).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 19 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 23.7 | +4.7 | 19 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | 19 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 28,596 | +2,100 | 19 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Tim Duncan | 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 Tim Duncan (+3.7 points per game) and he also scored more points (+78).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 18 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 24.3 | +3.7 | 17 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | 18 | |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5,250 | +78 | 17 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 639 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 826 | +187 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,256 | +124 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,132 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,390 | +185 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1,205 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 2 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 2 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 137 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 148 | +11 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 232 | +26 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 206 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 250 | +35 | ||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 215 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1 | |||
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 7.4 | 14.6 | 50.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 17.9 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 69.6 | 19 | 1,392 |
| difference: | +4.7 | +2.0 | +1.5 | +7.7 | +0.1 | +13.4 | +0.7 | +3.2 | +16.9 | +185 | ||
| 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 | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | 10,285 | 20,334 | 50.6 | 30 | 168 | 17.9 | 5,896 | 8,468 | 69.6 | 19 | 1,392 |
| difference: | +2,100 | +1,045 | +877 | +7.7 | +29 | +146 | +13.4 | +39 | +2,784 | +16.9 | +185 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 7.9 | 15.7 | 50.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 14.3 | 4.8 | 7.0 | 68.9 | 18 | 251 |
| difference: | +3.7 | +1.5 | +1.1 | +6.1 | +0.1 | +14.3 | +0.6 | +3.7 | +18.5 | +1 | +35 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | 1,975 | 3,939 | 50.1 | 5 | 35 | 14.3 | 1,217 | 1,766 | 68.9 | 18 | 251 |
| difference: | +78 | +66 | +312 | +6.1 | +5 | +35 | +14.3 | +49 | +551 | +18.5 | +1 | +35 |
| 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 1 season more than Tim Duncan in the NBA. In that year—his season 20 in 2011—he averaged 9.2 points in a total of 37 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 20.7 | +20.7 | 1998 | 9 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 1993 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 25.7 | +25.7 | 1995 | 21 |
Season 18 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | 17.9 | +17.9 | 2015 | 7 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
Shaquille O'Neal's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Shaquille O'Neal played in the Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 1.0 points in a total of 2 games. |