LeBron James vs. Shaquille O'Neal: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare LeBron James 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 - Cavaliers - Lakers - Heat

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where LeBron James, with a career spanning 23 seasons from 2004 to 2026, 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.

LeBron James vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal
Points
1st
9th
1st
5th
Rebounds
25th
15th
4th
5th
Assists
4th
237th
2nd
53rd
Steals
6th
+300th
1st
92nd
Blocks
71st
8th
9th
4th
Years23191817

LeBron James vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal
Points
8th
30th
6th
36th
Rebounds
190th
32nd
103rd
23rd
Assists
25th
+300th
25th
+300th
Steals
82nd
+300th
37th
+300th
Blocks
270th
15th
164th
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:

LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
1st
9th
8 42,316 vs. 28,59613,720
Rebounds
25th
15th
10 11,779 vs. 13,0991,320
Assists
4th
237th
233 11,645 vs. 3,0268,619
Steals
6th
+300th
+294 2,350 vs. 7391,611
Blocks
71st
8th
63 1,155 vs. 2,7321,577
Offensive Rebounds
146th
6th
140 1,805 vs. 4,2092,404
Defensive Rebounds
7th
11th
4 9,974 vs. 8,8901,084
Field Goals Made
2nd
7th
5 15,540 vs. 11,3304,210
Field Goals Attempted
1st
24th
23 30,694 vs. 19,45711,237
3-Pointers Made
6th
+300th
+294 2,570 vs. 12,569
3-Pointers Attempted
5th
+300th
+295 7,358 vs. 227,336
Free Throws Made
2nd
25th
23 8,666 vs. 5,9352,731
Free Throws Attempted
3rd
4th
1 11,763 vs. 11,252511

Games and Years:

LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
2nd
48th
46 1,570 vs. 1,207363
Seasons
1st
13th
12 23 vs. 194

Triple-Doubles:

LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
5th
204th
199 122 vs. 2120

Rankings by Points Scored:

LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
6th
22nd
16 79 vs. 4930
50+ point games
8th
42nd
34 14 vs. 311
60+ point games
11th
11th
0 1 vs. 10
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
1st
5th
4 8,289 vs. 5,2503,039
Rebounds
4th
5th
1 2,628 vs. 2,508120
Assists
2nd
53rd
51 2,095 vs. 5821,513
Steals
1st
92nd
91 493 vs. 117376
Blocks
9th
4th
5 284 vs. 459175
Offensive Rebounds
15th
1st
14 442 vs. 866424
Defensive Rebounds
1st
3rd
2 2,186 vs. 1,642544
Field Goals Made
1st
4th
3 2,971 vs. 2,041930
Field Goals Attempted
1st
7th
6 5,984 vs. 3,6272,357
3-Pointers Made
3rd
+300th
+297 480 vs. 0480
3-Pointers Attempted
2nd
+300th
+298 1,443 vs. 01,443
Free Throws Made
1st
8th
7 1,867 vs. 1,168699
Free Throws Attempted
1st
2nd
1 2,519 vs. 2,317202

Games and Years:

LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
1st
9th
8 292 vs. 21676
Playoffs
3rd
6th
3 18 vs. 171

Triple-Doubles:

LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
2nd
+300th
28 vs. 028

Rankings by Points Scored:

LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
2nd
8th
6 29 vs. 1217
50+ point games
9th
-
1 vs. 01
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
8th
30th
22 26.95 vs. 23.693.26
Rebounds per game
190th
32nd
158 7.50 vs. 10.853.35
Assists per game
25th
+300th
+275 7.42 vs. 2.514.91
Steals per game
82nd
+300th
+218 1.50 vs. 0.610.88
Blocks per game
270th
15th
255 0.74 vs. 2.261.53
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
10th
+290 1.15 vs. 3.492.34
Defensive Rebounds per game
64th
31st
33 6.35 vs. 7.371.01
Field Goals Made per game
6th
11th
5 9.90 vs. 9.390.51
Field Goals Attempted per game
14th
75th
61 19.55 vs. 16.123.43
3-Pointers Made per game
133rd
+300th
+167 1.64 vs. 0.001.64
3-Pointers Attempted per game
77th
+300th
+223 4.69 vs. 0.024.67
Free Throws Made per game
35th
58th
23 5.52 vs. 4.920.60
Free Throws Attempted per game
27th
5th
22 7.49 vs. 9.321.83

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

LeBron James Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
6th
36th
30 28.39 vs. 24.314.08
Rebounds per game
103rd
23rd
80 9.00 vs. 11.612.61
Assists per game
25th
+300th
+275 7.17 vs. 2.694.48
Steals per game
37th
+300th
+263 1.69 vs. 0.541.15
Blocks per game
164th
15th
149 0.97 vs. 2.131.15
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
6th
+294 1.51 vs. 4.012.50
Defensive Rebounds per game
30th
27th
3 7.49 vs. 7.600.12
Field Goals Made per game
10th
22nd
12 10.17 vs. 9.450.73
Field Goals Attempted per game
19th
83rd
64 20.49 vs. 16.793.70
3-Pointers Made per game
120th
+300th
+180 1.64 vs. 0.001.64
3-Pointers Attempted per game
95th
+300th
+205 4.94 vs. 0.004.94
Free Throws Made per game
22nd
60th
38 6.39 vs. 5.410.99
Free Throws Attempted per game
17th
2nd
15 8.63 vs. 10.732.10

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, this is 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 a minimum of 3 games is applied here for the Playoffs.