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?

Player comparisons:
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
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

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
Years15191317

Michael Jordan vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

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:
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:

Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
5th
9th
4 32,292 vs. 28,5963,696
Rebounds
141st
15th
126 6,672 vs. 13,0996,427
Assists
52nd
235th
183 5,633 vs. 3,0262,607
Steals
4th
+300th
+296 2,514 vs. 7391,775
Blocks
126th
8th
118 893 vs. 2,7321,839
Offensive Rebounds
177th
6th
171 1,668 vs. 4,2092,541
Defensive Rebounds
93rd
11th
82 5,004 vs. 8,8903,886
Field Goals Made
5th
7th
2 12,192 vs. 11,330862
Field Goals Attempted
5th
23rd
18 24,537 vs. 19,4575,080
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
581 vs. 1580
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
1,778 vs. 221,756
Free Throws Made
7th
25th
18 7,327 vs. 5,9351,392
Free Throws Attempted
12th
4th
8 8,772 vs. 11,2522,480

Games and Years:

Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
108th
47th
61 1,072 vs. 1,207135
Seasons
133rd
12th
121 15 vs. 194

Triple-Doubles:

Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
20th
202nd
182 28 vs. 226

Rankings by Points Scored:

Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
2nd
21st
19 173 vs. 49124
50+ point games
2nd
40th
38 31 vs. 328
60+ point games
4th
11th
7 4 vs. 13
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
2nd
5th
3 5,987 vs. 5,250737
Rebounds
40th
5th
35 1,152 vs. 2,5081,356
Assists
13th
53rd
40 1,022 vs. 582440
Steals
3rd
92nd
89 376 vs. 117259
Blocks
34th
4th
30 158 vs. 459301
Offensive Rebounds
36th
1st
35 305 vs. 866561
Defensive Rebounds
32nd
3rd
29 847 vs. 1,642795
Field Goals Made
3rd
4th
1 2,188 vs. 2,041147
Field Goals Attempted
3rd
7th
4 4,497 vs. 3,627870
3-Pointers Made
63rd
+300th
+237 148 vs. 0148
3-Pointers Attempted
52nd
+300th
+248 446 vs. 0446
Free Throws Made
2nd
8th
6 1,463 vs. 1,168295
Free Throws Attempted
3rd
2nd
1 1,766 vs. 2,317551

Games and Years:

Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
19th
9th
10 179 vs. 21637
Playoffs
45th
6th
39 13 vs. 174

Triple-Doubles:

Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
31st
+300th
2 vs. 02

Rankings by Points Scored:

Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
1st
8th
7 38 vs. 1226
50+ point games
1st
-
8 vs. 08
60+ point games
1st
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
1st
29th
28 30.12 vs. 23.696.43
Rebounds per game
+300th
32nd
+268 6.22 vs. 10.854.63
Assists per game
108th
+300th
+192 5.25 vs. 2.512.75
Steals per game
3rd
+300th
+297 2.35 vs. 0.611.73
Blocks per game
233rd
15th
218 0.83 vs. 2.261.43
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
10th
+290 1.56 vs. 3.491.93
Defensive Rebounds per game
186th
31st
155 4.67 vs. 7.372.70
Field Goals Made per game
2nd
11th
9 11.37 vs. 9.391.99
Field Goals Attempted per game
2nd
74th
72 22.89 vs. 16.126.77
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.54 vs. 0.000.54
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
1.66 vs. 0.021.64
Free Throws Made per game
10th
58th
48 6.83 vs. 4.921.92
Free Throws Attempted per game
19th
5th
14 8.18 vs. 9.321.14

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Michael Jordan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
1st
36th
35 33.45 vs. 24.319.14
Rebounds per game
278th
23rd
255 6.44 vs. 11.615.18
Assists per game
69th
+300th
+231 5.71 vs. 2.693.02
Steals per game
11th
+300th
+289 2.10 vs. 0.541.56
Blocks per game
195th
15th
180 0.88 vs. 2.131.24
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
6th
+294 1.70 vs. 4.012.31
Defensive Rebounds per game
184th
27th
157 4.73 vs. 7.602.87
Field Goals Made per game
1st
22nd
21 12.22 vs. 9.452.77
Field Goals Attempted per game
2nd
83rd
81 25.12 vs. 16.798.33
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.83 vs. 0.000.83
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
2.49 vs. 0.002.49
Free Throws Made per game
3rd
60th
57 8.17 vs. 5.412.77
Free Throws Attempted per game
8th
2nd
6 9.87 vs. 10.730.86

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.