How Many 3 Pointers Has Shaquille O’Neal Made in His 19-Year NBA Career?

When Shaquille O'Neal stepped beyond the arc, history was made — but probably not the way you'd expect. Even the present-day NBA fans would know Shaq's game was all about raw power and dominance in the low post. Far from today's trend of stretch bigs who often shoot from the perimeter.

Having said that, it was not as if Shaq never went wandered beyond the three-point line. Across his nearly two-decade NBA career, the former LA Lakers star attempted a grand total of 22 three-pointers. If you're shocked at the low number of attempts, the success ratio might even surprise you further.

Did Shaquille O'Neal make just one three pointer in his 1207 games? Just one. Yup, one in his 1207 games through the regular season and not even one attempt during the playoffs. But that one shot could easily be a chapter of it's in the Shaq storybook. The scene—Shaq's early years with the Orlando Magic. And the opponents—Milwaukee Bucks.

Time ran out in the quarter, and Shaq found himself just past half-court, ball in hand. With no chance to pass, he let the ball fly. And contrary to what Shaq's image as the shooter is, the ball banked in off the backboard! No wonder his teammates and fans went wild, and even Shaq looked stunned.

That's Shaq for you — not much of a three-point shooter. But one of the most dominant forces that the game has ever seen. With a career of 4.5 percent shooting from deep, big Diesel stuck to what he did best—punishing defenders in the paint and putting fear into anyone who dared to challenge him at the rim. And that one magical three-pointer? It's a fun reminder that sometimes, even the greats can surprise us.

Most three-pointers Shaq attempted in a season? Most of the 15x All Star's 3-point shots came during his early days with the Orlando Magic. Over the four seasons with his debut team, he attempted 9 of his 22 career threes, with his peak in 1995 when he took five.

Imagine the buzz when a 7-foot-1 powerhouse lined up for a three—fans knew it wasn't his forte, but they couldn't help but watch, hoping it might just go in. And then came the LA Lakers era. In his first year with the Lakers, Shaquille O'Neal tried just four threes, but they just didn't find the net.

By now, you could tell three-pointers were reserved for end-of-game, 'why not?' moments. Eventually, Shaq went six whole years without a single attempt from deep. But in 2009, when he was with the Phoenix Suns, he gave it one more try.

Then came his final attempt with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010, playing alongside LeBron James. And by his last season with the Celtics, Shaq had left the three-point dreams behind. Despite such rare attempts from beyond the arc and still being a dominant scorer, it may surprise you that the 4x NBA champ is not the one with the highest points without a single three-point shot in a game.

The NBA champ who surpassed Shaquille O'Neal in the rare record For those unaware, the highest that Shaq went in a game was 61 points during his time with the Lakers. The score included not even a single three-point shot made. Now, in today's three-point-heavy game, you'd think it would be almost impossible for anyone to beat that record. Without at least a few long-range shots, right? Well, think again!

Enter Giannis Antetokounmpo. In 2023, he rewrote the script by scoring a jaw-dropping 64 points in a game for the Milwaukee Bucks—without hitting a single three-pointer! That's right, the 2021 NBA champ didn't just break the Bucks' all-time single-game scoring record (57 points, held by Michael Redd since 2006) but also surpassed Shaq to score the highest score without even a single three-point shot made. This obviously excludes the time period when the NBA did not have the system of 3-point.

Notably, the Greek Freak shot 20 of 28 from the field and made a staggering 24 of 32 free throws. Ending the game with 14 rebounds. A powerhouse performance like this without a single three-pointer is incredibly rare today, with most teams and players so reliant on shots from beyond the arc. Reflecting on his accomplishment, Giannis shared, "It's a great feeling... being able to do it in front of the fans here in this stadium, it's a great feeling, too."

Yet another player who may surprise you for having a long NBA career but no 3-point shots was Tyson Chandler. Although a role player, he played 1160 games throughout his career and did not make even a single 3-point shot, attempting only 10. Among the big names to match Shaq's reluctancy to shoot 3s was Kareem Abdul Jabbar. And yes, he started at a time when 3-point shot was not a thing in the league, but he made just 1 spending 10 seasons with 3 point shots coming into existence.