Vince Carter vs. Shaquille O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Shaquille O'Neal and Vince Carter 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

Shaquille O'Neal and Vince Carter are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 54,324 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 Vince Carter 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:

Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers
Games of 30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc
Shooting Stats
Points Year by Year

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 19 NBA regular seasons played, Shaquille O'Neal averages 7 points more than Vince Carter in his 22 seasons (23.7 points against 16.7), and he also scored a total of 2,868 points more (28,596 vs. 25,728).

Points Per Game

Seasons
Vince Carter 16.7
22
Shaquille O'Neal 23.7
+7.0
19

Total Points

Seasons
Vince Carter 25,728
22
Shaquille O'Neal 28,596
+2,868
19

Scoring Titles

Vince Carter 0
Shaquille O'Neal 2
Scoring leaderScoring leader
+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 Vince Carter (+6.2 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,657).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
Vince Carter 18.1
11
Shaquille O'Neal 24.3
+6.2
17

Total Points

Playoffs
Vince Carter 1,593
11
Shaquille O'Neal 5,250
+3,657
17

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

Vince Carter 0
Shaquille O'Neal 1
+1

50+ Point Games

Vince Carter 2
Shaquille O'Neal 3
+1

40+ Point Games

Vince Carter 32
Shaquille O'Neal 49
+17

30+ Point Games

Vince Carter 185
Shaquille O'Neal 313
+128

20+ Point Games

Vince Carter 597
Shaquille O'Neal 826
+229

10+ Point Games

Vince Carter 1,094
Shaquille O'Neal 1,132
+38

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Vince Carter 1,473
+268
Shaquille O'Neal 1,205

0 Point Games (games without points)

Vince Carter 68
+66
Shaquille O'Neal 2

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

Vince Carter 1
+1
Shaquille O'Neal 0

40+ Point Games

Vince Carter 2
Shaquille O'Neal 12
+10

30+ Point Games

Vince Carter 12
Shaquille O'Neal 55
+43

20+ Point Games

Vince Carter 40
Shaquille O'Neal 148
+108

10+ Point Games

Vince Carter 68
Shaquille O'Neal 206
+138

1+ Point Games (games with points)

Vince Carter 88
Shaquille O'Neal 215
+127

0 Point Games (games without points)

Vince Carter 0
Shaquille O'Neal 1
+1

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
Vince Carter 16.7 6.0 13.8 43.5 1.5 4.0 37.1 3.1 3.9 79.8 22 1,541
difference:+7.0+3.4+2.3+14.7+1.5+4.0+32.6+1.8+5.4+27.1+3+334
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
Vince Carter 25,728 9,293 21,339 43.5 2,290 6,168 37.1 4,852 6,082 79.8 22 1,541
difference:+2,868+2,037+1,882+14.7+2,289+6,146+32.6+1,083+5,170+27.1+3+334
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
Vince Carter 18.1 6.3 15.2 41.6 1.4 4.0 33.8 4.1 5.1 79.6 11 88
difference:+6.2+3.1+1.6+14.7+1.4+4.0+33.8+1.3+5.6+29.2+6+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
Vince Carter 1,593 557 1,340 41.6 119 352 33.8 360 452 79.6 11 88
difference:+3,657+1,484+2,287+14.7+119+352+33.8+808+1,865+29.2+6+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

Scoring leader= NBA Scoring Leader
NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 18.3
199950
Shaquille O'Neal 23.4
+5.1
199381

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 25.7
200082
Shaquille O'Neal 29.3
+3.6
199481

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 27.6
200175
Shaquille O'Neal Scoring leader29.3
+1.7
199579

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 24.7
200260
Shaquille O'Neal 26.6
+1.9
199654

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 20.6
200343
Shaquille O'Neal 26.2
+5.6
199751

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 22.5
200473
Shaquille O'Neal 28.3
+5.8
199860

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 24.5
200577
Shaquille O'Neal 26.3
+1.8
199949

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 24.2
200679
Shaquille O'Neal Scoring leader29.7
+5.5
2000NBA Champion79

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 25.2
200782
Shaquille O'Neal 28.7
+3.5
2001NBA Champion74

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 21.3
200876
Shaquille O'Neal 27.2
+5.9
2002NBA Champion67

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 20.8
200980
Shaquille O'Neal 27.5
+6.7
200367

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 16.6
201075
Shaquille O'Neal 21.5
+4.9
200467

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 14.0
201173
Shaquille O'Neal 22.9
+8.9
200573

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 10.1
201261
Shaquille O'Neal 20.0
+9.9
2006NBA Champion59

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 13.4
201381
Shaquille O'Neal 17.3
+3.9
200740

Season 16

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 11.9
201481
Shaquille O'Neal 13.6
+1.7
200861

Season 17

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 5.8
201566
Shaquille O'Neal 13.6
+7.8
200861

Season 18

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 6.6
201660
Shaquille O'Neal 17.8
+11.2
200975

Season 19

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 8.0
201773
Shaquille O'Neal 12.0
+4.0
201053

Season 20

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 5.4
201858
Shaquille O'Neal 9.2
+3.8
201137

Vince Carter's additional seasons:

* Vince Carter played 2 seasons more than Shaquille O'Neal in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 21 to 22, from 2019 to 2020—he averaged 6.3 points in a total of 136 regular season games.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter -
DNP
19990
Shaquille O'Neal -
DNP
19930

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 19.3
20003
Shaquille O'Neal 20.7
+1.4
19943

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 27.3
+1.6
200112
Shaquille O'Neal 25.7
199521

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter -
DNP
20020
Shaquille O'Neal 25.8
+25.8
199612

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter -
DNP
20030
Shaquille O'Neal 26.9
+26.9
19979

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter -
DNP
20040
Shaquille O'Neal 30.5
+30.5
199813

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 26.8
+0.2
20054
Shaquille O'Neal 26.6
19998

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 29.6
200611
Shaquille O'Neal 30.7
+1.1
2000NBA Champion23

Season 9

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 22.3
200712
Shaquille O'Neal 30.4
+8.1
2001NBA Champion16

Season 10

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter -
DNP
20080
Shaquille O'Neal 28.5
+28.5
2002NBA Champion19

Season 11

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter -
DNP
20090
Shaquille O'Neal 27.0
+27.0
200312

Season 12

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 15.5
201014
Shaquille O'Neal 21.5
+6.0
200422

Season 13

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter -
DNP
20110
Shaquille O'Neal 19.4
+19.4
200513

Season 14

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 8.3
20124
Shaquille O'Neal 18.4
+10.1
2006NBA Champion23

Season 15

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter -
DNP
20130
Shaquille O'Neal 18.8
+18.8
20074

Season 16

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 12.6
20147
Shaquille O'Neal 15.2
+2.6
20085

Season 17

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 6.3
201511
Shaquille O'Neal 15.2
+8.9
20085

Season 18

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 11.3
+11.3
20164
Shaquille O'Neal -
DNP
20090

Season 19

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter 9.2
20176
Shaquille O'Neal 11.5
+2.3
201011

Season 20

Points per gameYearGames
Vince Carter -
DNP
20180
Shaquille O'Neal 1.0
+1.0
20112

Vince Carter's additional Playoffs:

* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Vince Carter didn't play in the postseason.

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