Shaquille O'Neal vs Yao Ming

Shaquille O'NealYao Ming

Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming compared on their NBA careers: Shaquille O'Neal played 19 seasons, 1992-93 to 2010-11, Yao Ming 8 seasons, 2002-03 to 2010-11. Shaquille O'Neal averaged 23.7 points a game to Yao Ming's 19. Shaquille O'Neal won 4 titles.

Who has the better career numbers?

Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming career per game
1,207GP486
34.7MIN32.5
23.7PTS19
10.9REB9.2
2.5AST1.6
0.6STL0.4
2.3BLK1.9
58.2FG%52.4
4.53P%20
52.7FT%83.3
58.6TS%59.6

Career totals

Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming career totals
28,596PTS9,247
13,099REB4,494
3,026AST769
739STL189
2,732BLK920
58.2FG%52.4
4.53P%20
52.7FT%83.3
58.6TS%59.6

How do they compare in the playoffs?

Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming postseason
216GP28
37.5MIN35.3
24.3PTS19.8
11.6REB9.3
2.7AST1
0.5STL0.3
2.1BLK1.5
56.3FG%51.9
03P%0
50.4FT%83.3
56.5TS%59.9

Where each stands all time

Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming all-time places
11th (28,596)Points—
8th (13,099)Rebounds234th (4,494)
187th (3,026)Assists—
290th (739)Steals—
8th (2,732)Blocks107th (920)

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

  • Shaquille O'Neal: 4 championships; All-Rookie First Team, Rookie of the Year, All-NBA Third Team ×4, All-NBA Second Team ×2, All-NBA First Team ×8, Finals MVP ×3, MVP, All-Star MVP ×3, All-Defensive Second Team ×3
  • Yao Ming: 0 championships; All-Rookie First Team, All-NBA Third Team ×3, All-NBA Second Team ×2

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.

Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming season by season
PTS: Points scored — a free throw is worth 1, a shot inside the arc 2, beyond it 3.REB: Missed shots the player collected, at either end of the floor.AST: Passes that led directly to a team-mate's basket.PTS: Points scored — a free throw is worth 1, a shot inside the arc 2, beyond it 3.REB: Missed shots the player collected, at either end of the floor.AST: Passes that led directly to a team-mate's basket.
1st1992-9323.413.91.92002-0313.58.21.7
2nd1993-9429.313.22.42003-0417.591.5
3rd1994-9529.311.42.72004-0518.38.40.8
4th1995-9626.6112.92005-0622.310.21.5
5th1996-9726.212.53.12006-07259.42
6th1997-9828.311.42.42007-082210.82.3
7th1998-9926.310.72.32008-0919.79.91.8
8th1999-0029.713.63.82010-1110.25.40.8
9th2000-0128.712.73.7————
10th2001-0227.210.73————
11th2002-0327.511.13.1————
12th2003-0421.511.52.9————
13th2004-0522.910.42.7————
14th2005-06209.21.9————
15th2006-0717.37.42————
16th2007-0813.69.11.5————
17th2008-0917.88.41.7————
18th2009-10126.71.5————
19th2010-119.24.80.7————

What the columns mean: PTS · REB · AST