Tim Duncan vs. Shaquille O'Neal: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Tim Duncan 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 Tim Duncan, with a career spanning 19 seasons from 1998 to 2016, 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.

Tim Duncan vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal
Points
17th
9th
6th
5th
Rebounds
6th
15th
3rd
5th
Assists
110th
236th
33rd
53rd
Steals
172nd
+300th
48th
92nd
Blocks
5th
8th
1st
4th
Years19191817

Tim Duncan vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal
Points
98th
29th
81st
36th
Rebounds
33rd
32nd
26th
23rd
Assists
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Steals
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Blocks
21st
15th
10th
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:

Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
17th
9th
8 26,496 vs. 28,5962,100
Rebounds
6th
15th
9 15,091 vs. 13,0991,992
Assists
110th
236th
126 4,225 vs. 3,0261,199
Steals
172nd
+300th
+128 1,025 vs. 739286
Blocks
5th
8th
3 3,020 vs. 2,732288
Offensive Rebounds
11th
6th
5 3,859 vs. 4,209350
Defensive Rebounds
3rd
11th
8 11,232 vs. 8,8902,342
Field Goals Made
15th
7th
8 10,285 vs. 11,3301,045
Field Goals Attempted
18th
23rd
5 20,334 vs. 19,457877
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
30 vs. 129
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
168 vs. 22146
Free Throws Made
26th
25th
1 5,896 vs. 5,93539
Free Throws Attempted
15th
4th
11 8,468 vs. 11,2522,784

Games and Years:

Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
11th
47th
36 1,392 vs. 1,207185
Seasons
12th
12th
0 19 vs. 190

Triple-Doubles:

Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
134th
202nd
68 4 vs. 22

Rankings by Points Scored:

Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
152nd
21st
131 5 vs. 4944
50+ point games
76th
40th
36 1 vs. 32
60+ point games
-
11th
0 vs. 11
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
6th
5th
1 5,172 vs. 5,25078
Rebounds
3rd
5th
2 2,859 vs. 2,508351
Assists
33rd
53rd
20 764 vs. 582182
Steals
48th
92nd
44 168 vs. 11751
Blocks
1st
4th
3 568 vs. 459109
Offensive Rebounds
2nd
1st
1 778 vs. 86688
Defensive Rebounds
2nd
3rd
1 2,081 vs. 1,642439
Field Goals Made
6th
4th
2 1,975 vs. 2,04166
Field Goals Attempted
5th
7th
2 3,939 vs. 3,627312
3-Pointers Made
+300th
+300th
5 vs. 05
3-Pointers Attempted
+300th
+300th
35 vs. 035
Free Throws Made
6th
8th
2 1,217 vs. 1,16849
Free Throws Attempted
3rd
2nd
1 1,766 vs. 2,317551

Games and Years:

Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
3rd
9th
6 251 vs. 21635
Playoffs
3rd
6th
3 18 vs. 171

Triple-Doubles:

Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
13th
+300th
4 vs. 04

Rankings by Points Scored:

Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
36th
8th
28 4 vs. 128
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
98th
29th
69 19.03 vs. 23.694.66
Rebounds per game
33rd
32nd
1 10.84 vs. 10.850.01
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
3.04 vs. 2.510.53
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.74 vs. 0.610.12
Blocks per game
21st
15th
6 2.17 vs. 2.260.09
Offensive Rebounds per game
54th
10th
44 2.77 vs. 3.490.71
Defensive Rebounds per game
11th
32nd
21 8.07 vs. 7.370.70
Field Goals Made per game
85th
11th
74 7.39 vs. 9.392.00
Field Goals Attempted per game
139th
74th
65 14.61 vs. 16.121.51
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 0.000.02
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.12 vs. 0.020.10
Free Throws Made per game
104th
58th
46 4.24 vs. 4.920.68
Free Throws Attempted per game
73rd
5th
68 6.08 vs. 9.323.24

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Tim Duncan Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
81st
36th
45 20.61 vs. 24.313.70
Rebounds per game
26th
23rd
3 11.39 vs. 11.610.22
Assists per game
+300th
+300th
3.04 vs. 2.690.35
Steals per game
+300th
+300th
0.67 vs. 0.540.13
Blocks per game
10th
15th
5 2.26 vs. 2.130.14
Offensive Rebounds per game
39th
6th
33 3.10 vs. 4.010.91
Defensive Rebounds per game
15th
27th
12 8.29 vs. 7.600.69
Field Goals Made per game
71st
22nd
49 7.87 vs. 9.451.58
Field Goals Attempted per game
118th
83rd
35 15.69 vs. 16.791.10
3-Pointers Made per game
+300th
+300th
0.02 vs. 0.000.02
3-Pointers Attempted per game
+300th
+300th
0.14 vs. 0.000.14
Free Throws Made per game
87th
60th
27 4.85 vs. 5.410.56
Free Throws Attempted per game
51st
2nd
49 7.04 vs. 10.733.69

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.