Michael Jordan vs. Shaquille O'Neal: NBA Rankings Comparison
The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Michael Jordan 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 Michael Jordan, with a career spanning 15 seasons from 1985 to 2003, 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.
Michael Jordan vs. Shaquille O'Neal | ||||
Career Totals |
Season | Playoffs | ||
Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | |
Points | 5th | 9th | 2nd | 5th |
Rebounds | 141st | 15th | 40th | 5th |
Assists | 52nd | 235th | 13th | 53rd |
Steals | 4th | +300th | 3rd | 92nd |
Blocks | 126th | 8th | 34th | 4th |
Years | 15 | 19 | 13 | 17 |
Michael Jordan vs. Shaquille O'Neal | ||||
Career Per Game |
Season | Playoffs | ||
Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | |
Points | 1st | 29th | 1st | 36th |
Rebounds | +300th | 32nd | 278th | 23rd |
Assists | 108th | +300th | 69th | +300th |
Steals | 3rd | +300th | 11th | +300th |
Blocks | 233rd | 15th | 195th | 15th |
Comparisons on this page: |
Their rankings for: |
Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points | 5th | 9th | 4 | 32,292 vs. 28,596 | 3,696 |
Rebounds | 141st | 15th | 126 | 6,672 vs. 13,099 | 6,427 |
Assists | 52nd | 235th | 183 | 5,633 vs. 3,026 | 2,607 |
Steals | 4th | +300th | +296 | 2,514 vs. 739 | 1,775 |
Blocks | 126th | 8th | 118 | 893 vs. 2,732 | 1,839 |
Offensive Rebounds | 177th | 6th | 171 | 1,668 vs. 4,209 | 2,541 |
Defensive Rebounds | 93rd | 11th | 82 | 5,004 vs. 8,890 | 3,886 |
Field Goals Made | 5th | 7th | 2 | 12,192 vs. 11,330 | 862 |
Field Goals Attempted | 5th | 23rd | 18 | 24,537 vs. 19,457 | 5,080 |
3-Pointers Made | +300th | +300th | 581 vs. 1 | 580 | |
3-Pointers Attempted | +300th | +300th | 1,778 vs. 22 | 1,756 | |
Free Throws Made | 7th | 25th | 18 | 7,327 vs. 5,935 | 1,392 |
Free Throws Attempted | 12th | 4th | 8 | 8,772 vs. 11,252 | 2,480 |
Games and Years: | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Games Played | 108th | 47th | 61 | 1,072 vs. 1,207 | 135 |
Seasons | 133rd | 12th | 121 | 15 vs. 19 | 4 |
Triple-Doubles: | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Triple-Doubles | 20th | 202nd | 182 | 28 vs. 2 | 26 |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
40+ point games | 2nd | 21st | 19 | 173 vs. 49 | 124 |
50+ point games | 2nd | 40th | 38 | 31 vs. 3 | 28 |
60+ point games | 4th | 11th | 7 | 4 vs. 1 | 3 |
70+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 |
Career Totals, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points | 2nd | 5th | 3 | 5,987 vs. 5,250 | 737 |
Rebounds | 40th | 5th | 35 | 1,152 vs. 2,508 | 1,356 |
Assists | 13th | 53rd | 40 | 1,022 vs. 582 | 440 |
Steals | 3rd | 92nd | 89 | 376 vs. 117 | 259 |
Blocks | 34th | 4th | 30 | 158 vs. 459 | 301 |
Offensive Rebounds | 36th | 1st | 35 | 305 vs. 866 | 561 |
Defensive Rebounds | 32nd | 3rd | 29 | 847 vs. 1,642 | 795 |
Field Goals Made | 3rd | 4th | 1 | 2,188 vs. 2,041 | 147 |
Field Goals Attempted | 3rd | 7th | 4 | 4,497 vs. 3,627 | 870 |
3-Pointers Made | 63rd | +300th | +237 | 148 vs. 0 | 148 |
3-Pointers Attempted | 52nd | +300th | +248 | 446 vs. 0 | 446 |
Free Throws Made | 2nd | 8th | 6 | 1,463 vs. 1,168 | 295 |
Free Throws Attempted | 3rd | 2nd | 1 | 1,766 vs. 2,317 | 551 |
Games and Years: | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Games Played | 19th | 9th | 10 | 179 vs. 216 | 37 |
Playoffs | 45th | 6th | 39 | 13 vs. 17 | 4 |
Triple-Doubles: | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Triple-Doubles | 31st | +300th | 2 vs. 0 | 2 | |
Rankings by Points Scored: | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
40+ point games | 1st | 8th | 7 | 38 vs. 12 | 26 |
50+ point games | 1st | - | 8 vs. 0 | 8 | |
60+ point games | 1st | - | 1 vs. 0 | 1 | |
70+ point games | - | - | 0 vs. 0 | 0 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points per game | 1st | 29th | 28 | 30.12 vs. 23.69 | 6.43 |
Rebounds per game | +300th | 32nd | +268 | 6.22 vs. 10.85 | 4.63 |
Assists per game | 108th | +300th | +192 | 5.25 vs. 2.51 | 2.75 |
Steals per game | 3rd | +300th | +297 | 2.35 vs. 0.61 | 1.73 |
Blocks per game | 233rd | 15th | 218 | 0.83 vs. 2.26 | 1.43 |
Offensive Rebounds per game | +300th | 10th | +290 | 1.56 vs. 3.49 | 1.93 |
Defensive Rebounds per game | 186th | 31st | 155 | 4.67 vs. 7.37 | 2.70 |
Field Goals Made per game | 2nd | 11th | 9 | 11.37 vs. 9.39 | 1.99 |
Field Goals Attempted per game | 2nd | 74th | 72 | 22.89 vs. 16.12 | 6.77 |
3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | +300th | 0.54 vs. 0.00 | 0.54 | |
3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | +300th | 1.66 vs. 0.02 | 1.64 | |
Free Throws Made per game | 10th | 58th | 48 | 6.83 vs. 4.92 | 1.92 |
Free Throws Attempted per game | 19th | 5th | 14 | 8.18 vs. 9.32 | 1.14 |
Career Per Game Averages, | |||||
Stats Rankings: | Michael Jordan | Shaquille O'Neal | Rk Diff. | Values | Diff. |
Points per game | 1st | 36th | 35 | 33.45 vs. 24.31 | 9.14 |
Rebounds per game | 278th | 23rd | 255 | 6.44 vs. 11.61 | 5.18 |
Assists per game | 69th | +300th | +231 | 5.71 vs. 2.69 | 3.02 |
Steals per game | 11th | +300th | +289 | 2.10 vs. 0.54 | 1.56 |
Blocks per game | 195th | 15th | 180 | 0.88 vs. 2.13 | 1.24 |
Offensive Rebounds per game | +300th | 6th | +294 | 1.70 vs. 4.01 | 2.31 |
Defensive Rebounds per game | 184th | 27th | 157 | 4.73 vs. 7.60 | 2.87 |
Field Goals Made per game | 1st | 22nd | 21 | 12.22 vs. 9.45 | 2.77 |
Field Goals Attempted per game | 2nd | 83rd | 81 | 25.12 vs. 16.79 | 8.33 |
3-Pointers Made per game | +300th | +300th | 0.83 vs. 0.00 | 0.83 | |
3-Pointers Attempted per game | +300th | +300th | 2.49 vs. 0.00 | 2.49 | |
Free Throws Made per game | 3rd | 60th | 57 | 8.17 vs. 5.41 | 2.77 |
Free Throws Attempted per game | 8th | 2nd | 6 | 9.87 vs. 10.73 | 0.86 |
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.