Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Shaquille O'Neal: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 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
Filter: Career Stats - Lakers

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with a career spanning 20 seasons from 1970 to 1989, 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.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal
Points
2nd
9th
3rd
5th
Rebounds
3rd
15th
6th
5th
Assists
50th
236th
32nd
53rd
Steals
112nd
+300th
36th
92nd
Blocks
3rd
8th
2nd
4th
Years20191817

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal
Points
20th
29th
36th
36th
Rebounds
25th
32nd
45th
23rd
Assists
296th
+300th
296th
+300th
Steals
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Blocks
8th
15th
9th
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.
* Some years in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career don't have data for these stats.

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:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
2nd
9th
7 38,387 vs. 28,5969,791
Rebounds
3rd
15th
12 17,440 vs. 13,0994,341
Assists
50th
236th
186 5,660 vs. 3,0262,634
Steals
112nd
+300th
+188 1,160 vs. 739421
Blocks
3rd
8th
5 3,189 vs. 2,732457
Offensive Rebounds
32nd
6th
26 2,975 vs. 4,2091,234
Defensive Rebounds
10th
11th
1 9,394 vs. 8,890504
Field Goals Made
1st
7th
6 15,837 vs. 11,3304,507
Field Goals Attempted
2nd
23rd
21 28,307 vs. 19,4578,850
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
1 vs. 10
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
18 vs. 224
Free Throws Made
13th
25th
12 6,712 vs. 5,935777
Free Throws Attempted
9th
4th
5 9,304 vs. 11,2521,948

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
3rd
47th
44 1,560 vs. 1,207353
Seasons
8th
12th
4 20 vs. 191

Triple-Doubles:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
24th
202nd
178 21 vs. 219

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
11th
21st
10 70 vs. 4921
50+ point games
11th
40th
29 10 vs. 37
60+ point games
-
11th
0 vs. 11
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
3rd
5th
2 5,762 vs. 5,250512
Rebounds
6th
5th
1 2,481 vs. 2,50827
Assists
32nd
53rd
21 767 vs. 582185
Steals
36th
92nd
56 189 vs. 11772
Blocks
2nd
4th
2 476 vs. 45917
Offensive Rebounds
9th
1st
8 505 vs. 866361
Defensive Rebounds
6th
3rd
3 1,273 vs. 1,642369
Field Goals Made
2nd
4th
2 2,356 vs. 2,041315
Field Goals Attempted
4th
7th
3 4,422 vs. 3,627795
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
0 vs. 00
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
4 vs. 04
Free Throws Made
12th
8th
4 1,050 vs. 1,168118
Free Throws Attempted
10th
2nd
8 1,419 vs. 2,317898

Games and Years:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
5th
9th
4 237 vs. 21621
Playoffs
3rd
6th
3 18 vs. 171

Triple-Doubles:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
38th
+300th
1 vs. 01

Rankings by Points Scored:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
12th
8th
4 9 vs. 123
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
20th
29th
9 24.61 vs. 23.690.92
Rebounds per game
25th
32nd
7 11.18 vs. 10.850.33
Assists per game
296th
+300th
+4 3.63 vs. 2.511.12
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.94 vs. 0.610.32
Blocks per game
8th
15th
7 2.57 vs. 2.260.31
Offensive Rebounds per game
115th
10th
105 2.40 vs. 3.491.09
Defensive Rebounds per game
27th
32nd
5 7.58 vs. 7.370.22
Field Goals Made per game
5th
11th
6 10.15 vs. 9.390.77
Field Goals Attempted per game
28th
74th
46 18.15 vs. 16.122.03
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.000.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 0.020.00
Free Throws Made per game
100th
58th
42 4.30 vs. 4.920.61
Free Throws Attempted per game
76th
5th
71 5.96 vs. 9.323.36

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
36th
36th
0 24.31 vs. 24.310.01
Rebounds per game
45th
23rd
22 10.47 vs. 11.611.14
Assists per game
296th
+300th
+4 3.24 vs. 2.690.54
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.96 vs. 0.540.42
Blocks per game
9th
15th
6 2.43 vs. 2.130.30
Offensive Rebounds per game
101st
6th
95 2.58 vs. 4.011.43
Defensive Rebounds per game
66th
27th
39 6.49 vs. 7.601.11
Field Goals Made per game
14th
22nd
8 9.94 vs. 9.450.49
Field Goals Attempted per game
50th
83rd
33 18.66 vs. 16.791.87
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.000.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.03 vs. 0.000.03
Free Throws Made per game
116th
60th
56 4.43 vs. 5.410.98
Free Throws Attempted per game
104th
2nd
102 5.99 vs. 10.734.74

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.