Shaquille O'Neal vs. Karl-Anthony Towns: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Shaquille O'Neal and Karl-Anthony Towns 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

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Shaquille O'Neal, with a career spanning 19 seasons from 1993 to 2011, and Karl-Anthony Towns, with 11 seasons played from 2016 to 2026, 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.

Shaquille O'Neal vs. Karl-Anthony Towns
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns
Points
9th
148th
5th
250th
Rebounds
15th
97th
5th
181st
Assists
237th
+300th
53rd
+300th
Steals
+300th
+300th
92nd
+300th
Blocks
8th
160th
4th
272nd
Years1911175

Shaquille O'Neal vs. Karl-Anthony Towns
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns
Points
30th
35th
36th
97th
Rebounds
32nd
28th
23rd
37th
Assists
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Steals
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Blocks
15th
128th
15th
288th

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:

Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
9th
148th
139 28,596 vs. 15,54013,056
Rebounds
15th
97th
82 13,099 vs. 7,4925,607
Assists
237th
+300th
+63 3,026 vs. 2,124902
Steals
+300th
+300th
739 vs. 548191
Blocks
8th
160th
152 2,732 vs. 7921,940
Offensive Rebounds
6th
128th
122 4,209 vs. 1,8932,316
Defensive Rebounds
11th
62nd
51 8,890 vs. 5,5993,291
Field Goals Made
7th
163rd
156 11,330 vs. 5,6745,656
Field Goals Attempted
24th
232nd
208 19,457 vs. 10,8748,583
3-Pointers Made
+300th
117th
+183 1 vs. 1,1711,170
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
149th
+151 22 vs. 2,9382,916
Free Throws Made
25th
178th
153 5,935 vs. 3,0212,914
Free Throws Attempted
4th
211st
207 11,252 vs. 3,6007,652

Games and Years:

Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
48th
+300th
1,207 vs. 675532
Seasons
13th
+300th
19 vs. 118

Triple-Doubles:

Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
204th
166th
38 2 vs. 31

Rankings by Points Scored:

Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
22nd
64th
42 49 vs. 1930
50+ point games
42nd
42nd
0 3 vs. 30
60+ point games
11th
7th
4 1 vs. 21
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
5th
250th
245 5,250 vs. 9894,261
Rebounds
5th
181st
176 2,508 vs. 5361,972
Assists
53rd
+300th
+247 582 vs. 100482
Steals
92nd
+300th
+208 117 vs. 3483
Blocks
4th
272nd
268 459 vs. 36423
Offensive Rebounds
1st
242nd
241 866 vs. 105761
Defensive Rebounds
3rd
116th
113 1,642 vs. 4311,211
Field Goals Made
4th
272nd
268 2,041 vs. 3461,695
Field Goals Attempted
7th
293rd
286 3,627 vs. 7272,900
3-Pointers Made
+300th
173rd
+127 0 vs. 7575
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
177th
+123 0 vs. 214214
Free Throws Made
8th
219th
211 1,168 vs. 222946
Free Throws Attempted
2nd
243rd
241 2,317 vs. 2672,050

Games and Years:

Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
9th
+300th
216 vs. 50166
Playoffs
6th
+300th
17 vs. 512

Triple-Doubles:

Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
+300th
0 vs. 00

Rankings by Points Scored:

Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
8th
-
12 vs. 012
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
30th
35th
5 23.69 vs. 23.020.67
Rebounds per game
32nd
28th
4 10.85 vs. 11.100.25
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
2.51 vs. 3.150.64
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.61 vs. 0.810.20
Blocks per game
15th
128th
113 2.26 vs. 1.171.09
Offensive Rebounds per game
10th
52nd
42 3.49 vs. 2.800.68
Defensive Rebounds per game
31st
7th
24 7.37 vs. 8.290.93
Field Goals Made per game
11th
39th
28 9.39 vs. 8.410.98
Field Goals Attempted per game
74th
75th
1 16.12 vs. 16.110.01
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
110th
+190 0.00 vs. 1.731.73
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
103rd
+197 0.02 vs. 4.354.33
Free Throws Made per game
58th
86th
28 4.92 vs. 4.480.44
Free Throws Attempted per game
5th
113rd
108 9.32 vs. 5.333.99

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Shaquille O'Neal Karl-Anthony Towns Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
36th
97th
61 24.31 vs. 19.784.53
Rebounds per game
23rd
37th
14 11.61 vs. 10.720.89
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
2.69 vs. 2.000.69
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.54 vs. 0.680.14
Blocks per game
15th
288th
273 2.13 vs. 0.721.41
Offensive Rebounds per game
6th
198th
192 4.01 vs. 2.101.91
Defensive Rebounds per game
27th
10th
17 7.60 vs. 8.621.02
Field Goals Made per game
22nd
133rd
111 9.45 vs. 6.922.53
Field Goals Attempted per game
83rd
162nd
79 16.79 vs. 14.542.25
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
155th
+145 0.00 vs. 1.501.50
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
140th
+160 0.00 vs. 4.284.28
Free Throws Made per game
60th
113rd
53 5.41 vs. 4.440.97
Free Throws Attempted per game
2nd
144th
142 10.73 vs. 5.345.39

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.