Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs Shaquille O'Neal

6of 9 lines

3of 9 lines

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal compared on their NBA careers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 14 seasons, 1975-76 to 1988-89, Shaquille O'Neal 19 seasons, 1992-93 to 2010-11. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 24.6 points a game to Shaquille O'Neal's 23.7. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won 5 titles, Shaquille O'Neal won 4 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads in 6 of the 9 lines, Shaquille O'Neal in 3. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal career per game

1,560	GP	1,207
36.8	MIN	34.7
24.6, better	PTS	23.7
7.9	REB	10.9, better
3.6, better	AST	2.5
0.7, better	STL	0.6
2	BLK	2.3, better
55.9	FG%	58.2, better
5.6, better	3P%	4.5
72.1, better	FT%	52.7
59.2, better	TS%	58.6

Career totals

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal career totals

38,387, better	PTS	28,596
12,369	REB	13,099, better
5,660, better	AST	3,026
1,160, better	STL	739
3,189, better	BLK	2,732
55.9	FG%	58.2, better
5.6, better	3P%	4.5
72.1, better	FT%	52.7
59.2, better	TS%	58.6

How do they compare in the playoffs?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal postseason

237	GP	216
37.3	MIN	37.5
24.3	PTS	24.3
7.5	REB	11.6, better
3.2, better	AST	2.7
0.8, better	STL	0.5
2	BLK	2.1, better
53.3	FG%	56.3, better
0	3P%	0
74, better	FT%	50.4
57.1, better	TS%	56.5

Where each stands all time

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal all-time places

2nd (38,387), better	Points	11th (28,596)
12th (12,369)	Rebounds	9th (13,099), better
49th (5,660), better	Assists	216th (3,026)
105th (1,160), better	Steals	—
3rd (3,189), better	Blocks	8th (2,732)

Among the NBA players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal titles and awards

5, better	Championships	4
5, better	MVP	1
9, better	All-NBA First Team	8
5, better	All-Defensive First Team	—
3	All-Defensive Second Team	3
4, better	All-NBA Second Team	2
1	Finals MVP	3, better
—	All-Rookie First Team	1, better
—	Rookie of the Year	1, better
—	All-NBA Third Team	4, better
—	All-Star MVP	3, better

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal season by season

1st	1975-76	27.7, better	16.9, better	5.0, better	1992-93	23.4	13.9	1.9
2nd	1976-77	26.2	13.3, better	3.9, better	1993-94	29.3, better	13.2	2.4
3rd	1977-78	25.8	12.9, better	4.3, better	1994-95	29.3, better	11.4	2.7
4th	1978-79	23.8	12.8, better	5.4, better	1995-96	26.6, better	11.0	2.9
5th	1979-80	24.8	10.8	4.5, better	1996-97	26.2, better	12.5, better	3.1
6th	1980-81	26.2	10.3	3.4, better	1997-98	28.3, better	11.4, better	2.4
7th	1981-82	23.9	8.7	3.0, better	1998-99	26.3, better	10.7, better	2.3
8th	1982-83	21.8	7.5	2.5	1999-00	29.7, better	13.6, better	3.8, better
9th	1983-84	21.5	7.3	2.6	2000-01	28.7, better	12.7, better	3.7, better
10th	1984-85	22.0	7.9	3.2, better	2001-02	27.2, better	10.7, better	3.0
11th	1985-86	23.4	6.1	3.5, better	2002-03	27.5, better	11.1, better	3.1
12th	1986-87	17.5	6.7	2.6	2003-04	21.5, better	11.5, better	2.9, better
13th	1987-88	14.6	6.0	1.7	2004-05	22.9, better	10.4, better	2.7, better
14th	1988-89	10.1	4.5	1.0	2005-06	20.0, better	9.2, better	1.9, better
15th	—	—	—	—	2006-07	17.3	7.4	2.0
16th	—	—	—	—	2007-08	13.6	9.1	1.5
17th	—	—	—	—	2008-09	17.8	8.4	1.7
18th	—	—	—	—	2009-10	12.0	6.7	1.5
19th	—	—	—	—	2010-11	9.2	4.8	0.7

What the columns mean: PTS · REB · AST