Shaquille O'Neal vs. Paul Pierce: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Shaquille O'Neal and Paul Pierce 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 - Celtics

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 Paul Pierce, with 19 seasons played from 1999 to 2017, 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. Paul Pierce
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce
Points
9th
18th
5th
23rd
Rebounds
15th
94th
5th
55th
Assists
236th
84th
53rd
54th
Steals
+300th
22nd
92nd
31st
Blocks
8th
175th
4th
75th
Years19191714

Shaquille O'Neal vs. Paul Pierce
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce
Points
29th
77th
36th
127th
Rebounds
32nd
+300th
23rd
+300th
Assists
+300th
+300th
+300th
266th
Steals
+300th
149th
+300th
178th
Blocks
15th
+300th
15th
+300th

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 Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
9th
18th
9 28,596 vs. 26,3972,199
Rebounds
15th
94th
79 13,099 vs. 7,5275,572
Assists
236th
84th
152 3,026 vs. 4,7081,682
Steals
+300th
22nd
+278 739 vs. 1,7521,013
Blocks
8th
175th
167 2,732 vs. 7451,987
Offensive Rebounds
6th
+300th
+294 4,209 vs. 1,0923,117
Defensive Rebounds
11th
43rd
32 8,890 vs. 6,4352,455
Field Goals Made
7th
29th
22 11,330 vs. 8,6682,662
Field Goals Attempted
23rd
22nd
1 19,457 vs. 19,4658
3-Pointers Made
+300th
15th
+285 1 vs. 2,1432,142
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
13th
+287 22 vs. 5,8165,794
Free Throws Made
25th
11th
14 5,935 vs. 6,918983
Free Throws Attempted
4th
14th
10 11,252 vs. 8,5782,674

Games and Years:

Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
47th
17th
30 1,207 vs. 1,343136
Seasons
12th
12th
0 19 vs. 190

Triple-Doubles:

Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
202nd
69th
133 2 vs. 97

Rankings by Points Scored:

Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
21st
57th
36 49 vs. 2128
50+ point games
40th
76th
36 3 vs. 12
60+ point games
11th
-
1 vs. 01
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
5th
23rd
18 5,250 vs. 3,1802,070
Rebounds
5th
55th
50 2,508 vs. 9851,523
Assists
53rd
54th
1 582 vs. 5793
Steals
92nd
31st
61 117 vs. 20487
Blocks
4th
75th
71 459 vs. 105354
Offensive Rebounds
1st
198th
197 866 vs. 125741
Defensive Rebounds
3rd
31st
28 1,642 vs. 860782
Field Goals Made
4th
35th
31 2,041 vs. 1,0221,019
Field Goals Attempted
7th
27th
20 3,627 vs. 2,4151,212
3-Pointers Made
+300th
14th
+286 0 vs. 276276
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
14th
+286 0 vs. 777777
Free Throws Made
8th
16th
8 1,168 vs. 860308
Free Throws Attempted
2nd
20th
18 2,317 vs. 1,0361,281

Games and Years:

Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
9th
26th
17 216 vs. 17046
Playoffs
6th
30th
24 17 vs. 143

Triple-Doubles:

Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
+300th
39th
0 vs. 11

Rankings by Points Scored:

Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
8th
49th
41 12 vs. 39
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
29th
77th
48 23.69 vs. 19.664.04
Rebounds per game
32nd
+300th
+268 10.85 vs. 5.605.25
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
2.51 vs. 3.511.00
Steals per game
+300th
149th
+151 0.61 vs. 1.300.69
Blocks per game
15th
+300th
+285 2.26 vs. 0.551.71
Offensive Rebounds per game
10th
+300th
+290 3.49 vs. 0.812.67
Defensive Rebounds per game
32nd
173rd
141 7.37 vs. 4.792.57
Field Goals Made per game
11th
183rd
172 9.39 vs. 6.452.93
Field Goals Attempted per game
74th
151st
77 16.12 vs. 14.491.63
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
142nd
+158 0.00 vs. 1.601.59
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
98th
+202 0.02 vs. 4.334.31
Free Throws Made per game
58th
47th
11 4.92 vs. 5.150.23
Free Throws Attempted per game
5th
56th
51 9.32 vs. 6.392.94

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Shaquille O'Neal Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
36th
127th
91 24.31 vs. 18.715.60
Rebounds per game
23rd
+300th
+277 11.61 vs. 5.795.82
Assists per game
+300th
266th
+34 2.69 vs. 3.410.71
Steals per game
+300th
178th
+122 0.54 vs. 1.200.66
Blocks per game
15th
+300th
+285 2.13 vs. 0.621.51
Offensive Rebounds per game
6th
+300th
+294 4.01 vs. 0.743.27
Defensive Rebounds per game
27th
149th
122 7.60 vs. 5.062.54
Field Goals Made per game
22nd
208th
186 9.45 vs. 6.013.44
Field Goals Attempted per game
83rd
177th
94 16.79 vs. 14.212.59
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
124th
+176 0.00 vs. 1.621.62
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
117th
+183 0.00 vs. 4.574.57
Free Throws Made per game
60th
79th
19 5.41 vs. 5.060.35
Free Throws Attempted per game
2nd
96th
94 10.73 vs. 6.094.63

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.