Wilt Chamberlain vs. Shaquille O'Neal: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare Wilt Chamberlain 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 / Stats / Stats Rankings
Filter: Career Stats - Lakers

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where Wilt Chamberlain, with a career spanning 14 seasons from 1960 to 1973, 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.

Wilt Chamberlain vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal
Points
7th
9th
21st
5th
Rebounds
1st
15th
2nd
5th
Assists
86th
237th
38th
53rd
Steals
n/a
+300th
n/a
92nd
Blocks
n/a
8th
n/a
4th
Years14191317

Wilt Chamberlain vs. Shaquille O'Neal
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal
Points
2nd
30th
50th
36th
Rebounds
1st
32nd
2nd
23rd
Assists
180th
+300th
164th
+300th
Steals
n/a
+300th
n/a
+300th
Blocks
n/a
15th
n/a
15th

Steals, blocks, offensive and defensive rebounds started to be recorded in the 1973-74 season. The 3-point shot was implemented in the 1979-80 season.
n/a = The player doesn't have data for the stat.

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:

Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
7th
9th
2 31,419 vs. 28,5962,823
Rebounds
1st
15th
14 23,924 vs. 13,09910,825
Assists
86th
237th
151 4,643 vs. 3,0261,617
Steals
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 739
Blocks
n/a
8th
0 vs. 2,732
Offensive Rebounds
n/a
6th
0 vs. 4,209
Defensive Rebounds
n/a
11th
0 vs. 8,890
Field Goals Made
4th
7th
3 12,681 vs. 11,3301,351
Field Goals Attempted
9th
24th
15 23,497 vs. 19,4574,040
3-Pointers Made
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 1
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 22
Free Throws Made
21st
25th
4 6,057 vs. 5,935122
Free Throws Attempted
2nd
4th
2 11,862 vs. 11,252610

Games and Years:

Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
125th
48th
77 1,045 vs. 1,207162
Seasons
194th
13th
181 14 vs. 195

Triple-Doubles:

Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
9th
204th
195 78 vs. 276

Rankings by Points Scored:

Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
1st
22nd
21 271 vs. 49222
50+ point games
1st
42nd
41 118 vs. 3115
60+ point games
1st
11th
10 32 vs. 131
70+ point games
1st
-
6 vs. 06

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
21st
5th
16 3,607 vs. 5,2501,643
Rebounds
2nd
5th
3 3,913 vs. 2,5081,405
Assists
38th
53rd
15 673 vs. 58291
Steals
n/a
92nd
0 vs. 117
Blocks
n/a
4th
0 vs. 459
Offensive Rebounds
n/a
1st
0 vs. 866
Defensive Rebounds
n/a
3rd
0 vs. 1,642
Field Goals Made
15th
4th
11 1,425 vs. 2,041616
Field Goals Attempted
19th
7th
12 2,728 vs. 3,627899
3-Pointers Made
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 0
3-Pointers Attempted
n/a
+300th
0 vs. 0
Free Throws Made
23rd
8th
15 757 vs. 1,168411
Free Throws Attempted
6th
2nd
4 1,627 vs. 2,317690

Games and Years:

Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
38th
9th
29 160 vs. 21656
Playoffs
45th
6th
39 13 vs. 174

Triple-Doubles:

Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
10th
+300th
9 vs. 09

Rankings by Points Scored:

Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
6th
8th
2 13 vs. 121
50+ point games
2nd
-
4 vs. 04
60+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
2nd
30th
28 30.07 vs. 23.696.37
Rebounds per game
1st
32nd
31 22.89 vs. 10.8512.04
Assists per game
180th
+300th
+120 4.44 vs. 2.511.94
Steals per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.61
Blocks per game
n/a
15th
0.00 vs. 2.26
Offensive Rebounds per game
n/a
10th
0.00 vs. 3.49
Defensive Rebounds per game
n/a
31st
0.00 vs. 7.37
Field Goals Made per game
1st
11th
10 12.13 vs. 9.392.75
Field Goals Attempted per game
3rd
75th
72 22.49 vs. 16.126.37
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.02
Free Throws Made per game
26th
58th
32 5.80 vs. 4.920.88
Free Throws Attempted per game
1st
5th
4 11.35 vs. 9.322.03

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

Wilt Chamberlain Shaquille O'Neal Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
50th
36th
14 22.54 vs. 24.311.76
Rebounds per game
2nd
23rd
21 24.46 vs. 11.6112.85
Assists per game
164th
+300th
+136 4.21 vs. 2.691.51
Steals per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.54
Blocks per game
n/a
15th
0.00 vs. 2.13
Offensive Rebounds per game
n/a
6th
0.00 vs. 4.01
Defensive Rebounds per game
n/a
27th
0.00 vs. 7.60
Field Goals Made per game
36th
22nd
14 8.91 vs. 9.450.54
Field Goals Attempted per game
78th
83rd
5 17.05 vs. 16.790.26
3-Pointers Made per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.00
3-Pointers Attempted per game
n/a
+300th
0.00 vs. 0.00
Free Throws Made per game
95th
60th
35 4.73 vs. 5.410.68
Free Throws Attempted per game
6th
2nd
4 10.17 vs. 10.730.56

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.