Bob Cousy vs. Shaquille O'Neal: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Bob Cousy and Shaquille O'Neal all-time NBA rankings. Explore their historical standing across total and per-game stats, regular season and playoffs. Who ranks higher?

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats Rankings
Filter: Career Stats - Celtics

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Bob Cousy, with a career spanning 14 seasons from 1951 to 1970, and Shaquille O'Neal, with 19 seasons played from 1993 to 2011, stand among the league's historical elite..

Dive into a meticulous breakdown of their positions in every major statistical category—from scoring, rebounding and assists to steals, blocks, triple-doubles, and rankings by points thresholds—across both regular season and their entire playoff careers. Our comprehensive tables offer side-by-side rankings, value comparisons, and key differences, ensuring you have all the definitive data to assess their historical impact.

First, review a concise summary of how they rank in NBA history in the main categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) for both total and per-game stats, and below, you can then explore in detail all their stats and their historical rankings.

Bob Cousy vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal
Points
106th
9th
68th
5th
Rebounds
+300th
15th
174th
5th
Assists
22nd
236th
20th
53rd
Steals
n/a
+300th
n/a
92nd
Blocks
n/a
8th
n/a
4th
Years14191317

Bob Cousy vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal
Points
122nd
29th
134th
36th
Rebounds
+300th
32nd
+300th
23rd
Assists
23rd
+300th
10th
+300th
Steals
n/a
+300th
n/a
+300th
Blocks
n/a
15th
n/a
15th

Steals, blocks, offensive and defensive rebounds started to be recorded in the 1973-74 season. The 3-point shot was implemented in the 1979-80 season.
n/a = The player doesn't have data for the stat.

Comparisons on this page:

Their rankings for:
Season Totals - Playoffs Totals /
Season Per Game - Playoffs Per Game

Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played

Career Totals,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
106th
9th
97 16,960 vs. 28,59611,636
Rebounds
+300th
15th
+285 4,786 vs. 13,0998,313
Assists
22nd
236th
214 6,955 vs. 3,0263,929
Steals
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 739
Blocks
n/a
8th
0 vs. 2,732
Offensive Rebounds
n/a
6th
0 vs. 4,209
Defensive Rebounds
n/a
11th
0 vs. 8,890
Field Goals Made
123rd
7th
116 6,168 vs. 11,3305,162
Field Goals Attempted
46th
23rd
23 16,468 vs. 19,4572,989
3-Pointers Made
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 1
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 22
Free Throws Made
54th
25th
29 4,624 vs. 5,9351,311
Free Throws Attempted
56th
4th
52 5,756 vs. 11,2525,496

Games and Years:

Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
236th
47th
189 924 vs. 1,207283
Seasons
194th
12th
182 14 vs. 195

Triple-Doubles:

Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
14th
202nd
188 33 vs. 231

Rankings by Points Scored:

Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
220th
21st
199 3 vs. 4946
50+ point games
-
40th
0 vs. 33
60+ point games
-
11th
0 vs. 11
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
68th
5th
63 2,018 vs. 5,2503,232
Rebounds
174th
5th
169 546 vs. 2,5081,962
Assists
20th
53rd
33 937 vs. 582355
Steals
n/a
92nd
0 vs. 117
Blocks
n/a
4th
0 vs. 459
Offensive Rebounds
n/a
1st
0 vs. 866
Defensive Rebounds
n/a
3rd
0 vs. 1,642
Field Goals Made
85th
4th
81 689 vs. 2,0411,352
Field Goals Attempted
45th
7th
38 2,016 vs. 3,6271,611
3-Pointers Made
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 0
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 0
Free Throws Made
39th
8th
31 640 vs. 1,168528
Free Throws Attempted
41st
2nd
39 799 vs. 2,3171,518

Games and Years:

Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
131st
9th
122 109 vs. 216107
Playoffs
45th
6th
39 13 vs. 174

Triple-Doubles:

Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
31st
+300th
2 vs. 02

Rankings by Points Scored:

Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
78th
8th
70 1 vs. 1211
50+ point games
9th
-
1 vs. 01
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
122nd
29th
93 18.35 vs. 23.695.34
Rebounds per game
+300th
32nd
+268 5.18 vs. 10.855.67
Assists per game
23rd
+300th
+277 7.53 vs. 2.515.02
Steals per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.61
Blocks per game
n/a
15th
0.00 vs. 2.26
Offensive Rebounds per game
n/a
10th
0.00 vs. 3.49
Defensive Rebounds per game
n/a
32nd
0.00 vs. 7.37
Field Goals Made per game
161st
11th
150 6.68 vs. 9.392.71
Field Goals Attempted per game
35th
74th
39 17.82 vs. 16.121.70
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.02
Free Throws Made per game
52nd
58th
6 5.00 vs. 4.920.09
Free Throws Attempted per game
63rd
5th
58 6.23 vs. 9.323.09

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Bob Cousy Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
134th
36th
98 18.51 vs. 24.315.79
Rebounds per game
+300th
23rd
+277 5.01 vs. 11.616.60
Assists per game
10th
+300th
+290 8.60 vs. 2.695.90
Steals per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.54
Blocks per game
n/a
15th
0.00 vs. 2.13
Offensive Rebounds per game
n/a
6th
0.00 vs. 4.01
Defensive Rebounds per game
n/a
27th
0.00 vs. 7.60
Field Goals Made per game
180th
22nd
158 6.32 vs. 9.453.13
Field Goals Attempted per game
54th
83rd
29 18.50 vs. 16.791.70
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.00
Free Throws Made per game
39th
60th
21 5.87 vs. 5.410.46
Free Throws Attempted per game
42nd
2nd
40 7.33 vs. 10.733.40

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, 400 games for regular season stats unless the player reached these thresholds before: 10,000 points; 4,000 rebounds; 2,000 assists; 625 steals; 500 blocks; 250 3-pointers made. Also 3 minimum games for the Playoffs are applied.