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?
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
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 | ||||
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 |
| Years | 18 | 19 | 12 | 17 |
Dwight Howard vs. Shaquille O'Neal | ||||
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: |
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Their rankings for: |
Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Points | 57th | 9th | 48 | 19,485 vs. 28,596 | 9,111 |
| Rebounds | 10th | 15th | 5 | 14,627 vs. 13,099 | 1,528 |
| Assists | +300th | 236th | +64 | 1,676 vs. 3,026 | 1,350 |
| Steals | 146th | +300th | +154 | 1,081 vs. 739 | 342 |
| Blocks | 13th | 8th | 5 | 2,228 vs. 2,732 | 504 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 7th | 6th | 1 | 4,151 vs. 4,209 | 58 |
| Defensive Rebounds | 4th | 11th | 7 | 10,476 vs. 8,890 | 1,586 |
| Field Goals Made | 78th | 7th | 71 | 7,051 vs. 11,330 | 4,279 |
| Field Goals Attempted | 162nd | 23rd | 139 | 12,016 vs. 19,457 | 7,441 |
| 3-Pointers Made | +300th | +300th | 22 vs. 1 | 21 | |
| 3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | +300th | 103 vs. 22 | 81 | |
| Free Throws Made | 33rd | 25th | 8 | 5,361 vs. 5,935 | 574 |
| Free Throws Attempted | 8th | 4th | 4 | 9,455 vs. 11,252 | 1,797 |
Games and Years: | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Games Played | 37th | 47th | 10 | 1,242 vs. 1,207 | 35 |
| Seasons | 29th | 12th | 17 | 18 vs. 19 | 1 |
Triple-Doubles: | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Triple-Doubles | 275th | 202nd | 73 | 1 vs. 2 | 1 |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| 40+ point games | 185th | 21st | 164 | 4 vs. 49 | 45 |
| 50+ point games | - | 40th | 0 vs. 3 | 3 | |
| 60+ point games | - | 11th | 0 vs. 1 | 1 | |
| 70+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 | |
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Points | 78th | 5th | 73 | 1,909 vs. 5,250 | 3,341 |
| Rebounds | 19th | 5th | 14 | 1,473 vs. 2,508 | 1,035 |
| Assists | +300th | 53rd | +247 | 149 vs. 582 | 433 |
| Steals | 129th | 92nd | 37 | 94 vs. 117 | 23 |
| Blocks | 13th | 4th | 9 | 248 vs. 459 | 211 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 16th | 1st | 15 | 441 vs. 866 | 425 |
| Defensive Rebounds | 19th | 3rd | 16 | 1,032 vs. 1,642 | 610 |
| Field Goals Made | 87th | 4th | 83 | 681 vs. 2,041 | 1,360 |
| Field Goals Attempted | 148th | 7th | 141 | 1,156 vs. 3,627 | 2,471 |
| 3-Pointers Made | +300th | +300th | 1 vs. 0 | 1 | |
| 3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | +300th | 7 vs. 0 | 7 | |
| Free Throws Made | 50th | 8th | 42 | 546 vs. 1,168 | 622 |
| Free Throws Attempted | 24th | 2nd | 22 | 997 vs. 2,317 | 1,320 |
Games and Years: | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Games Played | 95th | 9th | 86 | 125 vs. 216 | 91 |
| Playoffs | 76th | 6th | 70 | 12 vs. 17 | 5 |
Triple-Doubles: | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Triple-Doubles | +300th | +300th | 0 vs. 0 | 0 | |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| 40+ point games | 55th | 8th | 47 | 2 vs. 12 | 10 |
| 50+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 | |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Points per game | 245th | 29th | 216 | 15.69 vs. 23.69 | 8.00 |
| Rebounds per game | 20th | 32nd | 12 | 11.78 vs. 10.85 | 0.92 |
| Assists per game | +300th | +300th | 1.35 vs. 2.51 | 1.16 | |
| Steals per game | +300th | +300th | 0.87 vs. 0.61 | 0.26 | |
| Blocks per game | 37th | 15th | 22 | 1.79 vs. 2.26 | 0.47 |
| Offensive Rebounds per game | 13th | 10th | 3 | 3.34 vs. 3.49 | 0.14 |
| Defensive Rebounds per game | 3rd | 32nd | 29 | 8.43 vs. 7.37 | 1.07 |
| Field Goals Made per game | 287th | 11th | 276 | 5.68 vs. 9.39 | 3.71 |
| Field Goals Attempted per game | +300th | 74th | +226 | 9.67 vs. 16.12 | 6.45 |
| 3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | +300th | 0.02 vs. 0.00 | 0.02 | |
| 3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | +300th | 0.08 vs. 0.02 | 0.06 | |
| Free Throws Made per game | 97th | 58th | 39 | 4.32 vs. 4.92 | 0.60 |
| Free Throws Attempted per game | 26th | 5th | 21 | 7.61 vs. 9.32 | 1.71 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Dwight Howard | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
| Points per game | 235th | 36th | 199 | 15.27 vs. 24.31 | 9.03 |
| Rebounds per game | 21st | 23rd | 2 | 11.78 vs. 11.61 | 0.17 |
| Assists per game | +300th | +300th | 1.19 vs. 2.69 | 1.50 | |
| Steals per game | +300th | +300th | 0.75 vs. 0.54 | 0.21 | |
| Blocks per game | 21st | 15th | 6 | 1.98 vs. 2.13 | 0.14 |
| Offensive Rebounds per game | 19th | 6th | 13 | 3.53 vs. 4.01 | 0.48 |
| Defensive Rebounds per game | 17th | 27th | 10 | 8.26 vs. 7.60 | 0.65 |
| Field Goals Made per game | 268th | 22nd | 246 | 5.45 vs. 9.45 | 4.00 |
| Field Goals Attempted per game | +300th | 83rd | +217 | 9.25 vs. 16.79 | 7.54 |
| 3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | +300th | 0.01 vs. 0.00 | 0.01 | |
| 3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | +300th | 0.06 vs. 0.00 | 0.06 | |
| Free Throws Made per game | 125th | 60th | 65 | 4.37 vs. 5.41 | 1.04 |
| Free Throws Attempted per game | 29th | 2nd | 27 | 7.98 vs. 10.73 | 2.75 |
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.