Who is better, LeBron or Shaq?
LeBron James leads with a GOAT score of 95.6 against 89.7 for Shaquille O'Neal — a gap of 5.9 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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LeBron vs Shaq
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently ranks LeBron James above Shaquille O'Neal: 95.6 vs 89.7. LeBron James leads on Longevity, Statistics, Dominance.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
LeBronWinner
95.6LeBron wins: Dominance, Peak, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
Shaq
89.7Shaq wins: no category outright
Candidates
Locked to BasketballShareable URL · /compare/lebron-vs-shaq
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇺🇸 LeBron James
95.6
LeBron leads in 5 of 5 weighted categories.
1. LeBron James
2. Shaquille O'Neal
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Through age 21 · Form index per season
1. 🇺🇸 LeBron James48 points per game
2 seasons by age 21 · 24 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Shaq — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
LeBron95.6
Shaq89.7
FAQ
Where does Shaq beat LeBron?
Shaq does not lead any of the five categories; LeBron is ahead or level on all of them.
How is the LeBron vs Shaq score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. LeBron: 95.6, Shaq: 89.7.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for LeBron vs Shaq. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.