Dwight Howard vs. Shaquille O'Neal: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Dwight Howard 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Filter: Career Stats - Magic - Lakers

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Dwight Howard, with a career spanning 18 seasons from 2005 to 2022, 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.

Dwight Howard vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal
Points
57th
9th
78th
5th
Rebounds
10th
15th
19th
5th
Assists
+300th
236th
+300th
53rd
Steals
146th
+300th
129th
92nd
Blocks
13th
8th
13th
4th
Years18191217

Dwight Howard vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal
Points
245th
29th
235th
36th
Rebounds
20th
32nd
21st
23rd
Assists
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Steals
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Blocks
37th
15th
21st
15th

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:

Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
57th
9th
48 19,485 vs. 28,5969,111
Rebounds
10th
15th
5 14,627 vs. 13,0991,528
Assists
+300th
236th
+64 1,676 vs. 3,0261,350
Steals
146th
+300th
+154 1,081 vs. 739342
Blocks
13th
8th
5 2,228 vs. 2,732504
Offensive Rebounds
7th
6th
1 4,151 vs. 4,20958
Defensive Rebounds
4th
11th
7 10,476 vs. 8,8901,586
Field Goals Made
78th
7th
71 7,051 vs. 11,3304,279
Field Goals Attempted
162nd
23rd
139 12,016 vs. 19,4577,441
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
22 vs. 121
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
103 vs. 2281
Free Throws Made
33rd
25th
8 5,361 vs. 5,935574
Free Throws Attempted
8th
4th
4 9,455 vs. 11,2521,797

Games and Years:

Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
37th
47th
10 1,242 vs. 1,20735
Seasons
29th
12th
17 18 vs. 191

Triple-Doubles:

Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
275th
202nd
73 1 vs. 21

Rankings by Points Scored:

Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
185th
21st
164 4 vs. 4945
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:

Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
78th
5th
73 1,909 vs. 5,2503,341
Rebounds
19th
5th
14 1,473 vs. 2,5081,035
Assists
+300th
53rd
+247 149 vs. 582433
Steals
129th
92nd
37 94 vs. 11723
Blocks
13th
4th
9 248 vs. 459211
Offensive Rebounds
16th
1st
15 441 vs. 866425
Defensive Rebounds
19th
3rd
16 1,032 vs. 1,642610
Field Goals Made
87th
4th
83 681 vs. 2,0411,360
Field Goals Attempted
148th
7th
141 1,156 vs. 3,6272,471
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
1 vs. 01
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
7 vs. 07
Free Throws Made
50th
8th
42 546 vs. 1,168622
Free Throws Attempted
24th
2nd
22 997 vs. 2,3171,320

Games and Years:

Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
95th
9th
86 125 vs. 21691
Playoffs
76th
6th
70 12 vs. 175

Triple-Doubles:

Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
+300th
0 vs. 00

Rankings by Points Scored:

Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
55th
8th
47 2 vs. 1210
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
245th
29th
216 15.69 vs. 23.698.00
Rebounds per game
20th
32nd
12 11.78 vs. 10.850.92
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
1.35 vs. 2.511.16
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.87 vs. 0.610.26
Blocks per game
37th
15th
22 1.79 vs. 2.260.47
Offensive Rebounds per game
13th
10th
3 3.34 vs. 3.490.14
Defensive Rebounds per game
3rd
32nd
29 8.43 vs. 7.371.07
Field Goals Made per game
287th
11th
276 5.68 vs. 9.393.71
Field Goals Attempted per game
+300th
74th
+226 9.67 vs. 16.126.45
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 0.000.02
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.08 vs. 0.020.06
Free Throws Made per game
97th
58th
39 4.32 vs. 4.920.60
Free Throws Attempted per game
26th
5th
21 7.61 vs. 9.321.71

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Dwight Howard Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
235th
36th
199 15.27 vs. 24.319.03
Rebounds per game
21st
23rd
2 11.78 vs. 11.610.17
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
1.19 vs. 2.691.50
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.75 vs. 0.540.21
Blocks per game
21st
15th
6 1.98 vs. 2.130.14
Offensive Rebounds per game
19th
6th
13 3.53 vs. 4.010.48
Defensive Rebounds per game
17th
27th
10 8.26 vs. 7.600.65
Field Goals Made per game
268th
22nd
246 5.45 vs. 9.454.00
Field Goals Attempted per game
+300th
83rd
+217 9.25 vs. 16.797.54
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.01 vs. 0.000.01
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.06 vs. 0.000.06
Free Throws Made per game
125th
60th
65 4.37 vs. 5.411.04
Free Throws Attempted per game
29th
2nd
27 7.98 vs. 10.732.75

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.