Larry Bird vs Shaquille O'Neal

2of 3 lines

1of 3 lines

Larry Bird and Shaquille O'Neal compared on their NBA careers: Larry Bird played 13 seasons, 1979-80 to 1991-92, Shaquille O'Neal 19 seasons, 1992-93 to 2010-11. Larry Bird averaged 24.3 points a game to Shaquille O'Neal's 23.7. Larry Bird won 3 titles, Shaquille O'Neal won 4 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Larry Bird leads in 2 of the 3 lines, Shaquille O'Neal in 1. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Larry Bird and Shaquille O'Neal career per game

—	GP	1,207
—	MIN	34.7
24.3, better	PTS	23.7
10	REB	10.9, better
6.3, better	AST	2.5
—	STL	0.6
—	BLK	2.3
—	FG%	58.2
—	3P%	4.5
—	FT%	52.7
—	TS%	58.6

Career totals

Larry Bird and Shaquille O'Neal career totals

21,791	PTS	28,596, better
8,974	REB	13,099, better
5,695, better	AST	3,026
—	STL	739
—	BLK	2,732
—	FG%	58.2
—	3P%	4.5
—	FT%	52.7
—	TS%	58.6

Where each stands all time

Larry Bird and Shaquille O'Neal all-time places

40th (21,791)	Points	10th (28,596), better
57th (8,974)	Rebounds	15th (13,099), better
48th (5,695), better	Assists	215th (3,026)
—	Blocks	8th (2,732), better

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

Larry Bird and Shaquille O'Neal titles and awards

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

Larry Bird and Shaquille O'Neal season by season

1st	1979-80	21.3	10.4	4.5, better	1992-93	23.4, better	13.9, better	1.9
2nd	1980-81	21.2	10.9	5.5, better	1993-94	29.3, better	13.2, better	2.4
3rd	1981-82	22.9	10.9	5.8, better	1994-95	29.3, better	11.4, better	2.7
4th	1982-83	23.6	11.0	5.8, better	1995-96	26.6, better	11.0	2.9
5th	1983-84	24.2	10.1	6.6, better	1996-97	26.2, better	12.5, better	3.1
6th	1984-85	28.7, better	10.5	6.6, better	1997-98	28.3	11.4, better	2.4
7th	1985-86	25.8	9.8	6.8, better	1998-99	26.3, better	10.7, better	2.3
8th	1986-87	28.1	9.2	7.6, better	1999-00	29.7, better	13.6, better	3.8
9th	1987-88	29.9, better	9.3	6.1, better	2000-01	28.7	12.7, better	3.7
10th	1988-89	19.3	6.2	4.8, better	2001-02	27.2, better	10.7, better	3.0
11th	1989-90	24.3	9.5	7.5, better	2002-03	27.5, better	11.1, better	3.1
12th	1990-91	19.4	8.5	7.2, better	2003-04	21.5, better	11.5, better	2.9
13th	1991-92	20.2	9.6	6.8, better	2004-05	22.9, better	10.4, better	2.7
14th	—	—	—	—	2005-06	20.0	9.2	1.9
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