The NBA has a new all-time leading scorer for the first time in 38 years. LeBron James, on a two-point jumper off his back leg, surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points scored in NBA history at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday evening. For 20 years, LeBron has been consistently great, remained healthy, and broke the mold when it comes to health and longevity as a basketball player who made it to the professional level. Due to these things, and some other incredible accomplishments, the NBA has a new scoring king, and LeBron James sits alone atop the throne.
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Scoring in droves for most of your career is sure to get your name into at least the Top 20 on the all-time scoring list. LeBron and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got their scoring records by playing for 20 years at an elite level. Others got to their spot in history by being otherworldly scorers at their peak. It doesn’t matter about the amount of 50-point games you accumulate or game-winners you knock down. The NBA’s all-time scoring list is about dominating one-half of the purpose of the game of basketball. The 20 players below are the greatest scorers in NBA history. If total points aren’t in your wheelhouse, then rearrange them by their PPG. However, these are undoubtedly the 20 players that will still be there when it is all said and done.
These are the 20 greatest scorers in NBA history.
20. Vince Carter – 25,728 Points
Credit: Lou Capozzola-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 16.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Games Played: 1,541 Games
Stop me if you have heard this one before. Vince Carter was far more than just a dunker. Despite having some of the most iconic poster dunks in NBA history, Vince Carter earned his spot in the Top 20 from all three levels on the court. For his career, Carter shot 37.1% from three over the course of 22 seasons in the NBA. He could get his own shot whenever he wanted to in his prime and finish at the rim among the best players in the NBA in his prime.
From 2000 thru 2009, Carter went on a decade-long stretch that saw him average at least 20.0 PPG every season. His career-high for a season came with the Raptors in 2000-01 when he averaged 27.6 PPG in 75 games played. In his seven seasons in Toronto, he averaged 23.4 PPG, and in his five seasons with the Nets, he averaged 23.6 PPG. Carter would end his career as a Rookie of the Year winner, eight-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA Team selection, and seventh in NBA history with over 2,200 three-pointers made.
19. Kevin Garnett – 26,071 Points
Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 17.8 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.4 BPG
Games Played: 1,462 Games Played
The fact that Kevin Garnett is in the Top 20 for total career points scored is pretty amazing when you consider he was never considered a scorer. Straight out of high school, Garnett had the weight of a franchise placed upon his shoulders and brought them to the highest heights they have ever reached. Garnett is a former MVP and Defensive Player of the Year who helped lead the Celtics to an NBA championship in 2008.
In the prime of his career, Kevin Garnett averaged at least 20.0 PPG in nine straight seasons from 1999 thru 2007. His career-high came in his 2004 MVP season when he averaged 24.2 PPG. Although he never had a 2,000-point season, Garnett had nine seasons with at least 1,500 points all while being one of the NBA’s best rebounders and defenders. The scoring isn’t what makes Garnett’s 19th place on the all-time scoring list impressive. It is everything else he did that makes it special.
18. John Havlicek – 26,395 Points
Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 20.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.3 BPG
Games Played: 1,270 Games Played
Before LeBron James set the new standard for longevity, as well as Kareem, John Havlicek was the epitome of it. He played for 16 seasons with the Boston Celtics, helping them win eight NBA championships during his tenure there. Havlicek embodied the word hustle in every play he was a part of on the court and averaged over 20.0 PPG for his career. What is amazing is that Havlicek played in over 200 fewer games than both of the players we have already discussed.
After taking a spot mostly off the bench for his first few seasons, Havlicek became a full-time starter around 1967. That is when he began to become a consistent 20.0 PPG scorer from 1967 thru 1974. In 1971 and 1972, Havlicek had his best scoring seasons with Boston, averaging 28.9 PPG in 1971 and 27.5 PPG in 1972, being his only 2,000-point seasons. At the end of his career, Havlicek was an eight-time NBA champion, 13-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA Team selection, eight-time All-Defensive Team selection, and the 1974 Finals MVP.
17. Paul Pierce – 26,397 Points
Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 19.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Games Played: 1,343 Games
Paul Pierce is another player who many didn’t believe could end up this high on the NBA’s all-time scoring list by the time his career was over. Pierce’s style didn’t look like what we normally see from an all-time great scorer. He was slower but more calculated and relied more heavily on jumpers than any other way to score in his career, especially from three. At his peak, he was as consistent and calculated as anybody in the game at the time.
From 2001 to his Finals MVP performance in 2008 is considered the best seasons of Pierce’s career. He averaged at least 20.0 PPG in all eight seasons and peaked at 26.8 PPG in 2006. He recorded a total of four 2,000-point seasons and nine total seasons with at least 1,500 points. Pierce is another player we do not consider to be an all-time great scorer, but the numbers do say otherwise.
16. Tim Duncan – 26,496 Points
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 19.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 2.2 BPG
Games Played: 1,392 Games
Tim Duncan is widely considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. He is certainly the greatest at his position of power forward as he made the San Antonio Spurs go from relatively unknown to one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history. He won five NBA championships and three Finals MVP awards with San Antonio over a career that spanned 19 seasons from 1998 thru 2016. Duncan’s fundamental game and defensive abilities made him who he is today, but his offensive output goes severely overlooked.
In his rookie season, Duncan averaged 21.1 PPG on 54.9% shooting. He would not record a season in which he didn’t average 20.0 PPG until his ninth season in 2006. As a scorer, Duncan peaked at 25.5 PPG in 2002, the only 2,000-point season of his career. He never led the NBA in scoring or even really came close, but he was someone that needed to be attended to closely on that end of the floor.
15. Dominique Wilkins – 26,668 Points
Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 24.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG
Games Played: 1,074 Games
In just over 1,000 games, Dominique Wilkins sits at number 15 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Wilkins’ legacy has taken a hit for some reason over the years, and frankly, the disrespect needs to end. Wilkins was one of the first players I remember being a true highlight reel every time that he stepped on the court. His athleticism, coupled with his skill, made him a lethal scorer from all three levels on offense, yes, even the three-point line, which he began to knock down after suffering an Achilles injury later in his career.
The best stretch of Wilkins’ career came from 1985 thru 1993. Over those nine seasons, Wilkins averaged 28.2 PPG in 670 games played. He won his only scoring title in 1986 when he averaged 30.3 PPG. He averaged 30.7 PPG again in 1988, but the scoring title went to Michael Jordan. Wilkins even averaged 29.9 PPG the season after suffering what was thought to be a career-ending injury after adapting his game to rely much less on his athleticism. Dominique Wilkins is truly one of the game’s greatest scorers, and overall players and anything else is a detriment to speaking about basketball.
14. Kevin Durant – 26,684 Points
Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 27.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.1 BPG
Games Played: 978 Games Played
Kevin Durant is the only player on this list with less than 1,000 games played in his career. His consistent scoring talent is something we have never seen from a player that stands nearly seven feet tall. With his large frame and guard-like handling skills, Durant has dominated his competition by mastering the art of scoring from the mid-range and taking advantage of the three-point revolution. His efficiency and three-level ability are what make him one of the greatest scorers to ever play the game.
In 16 seasons, Kevin Durant has never averaged less than 20.0 PPG in any healthy season of his career. Durant captured three straight scoring titles from 2010 thru 2012 averaging 28.7 PPG over that three-year span. He captured his fourth scoring title in 2014 when he won MVP and averaged 32.0 PPG. In his career, Durant has won two NBA championships and two Finals MVP awards to cap off an amazing career that still has some time left on it.
13. Oscar Robertson – 26,710 Points
Credit: Malcolm Emmons – USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Games Played: 1,040 Games
Oscar Robertson’s spot on this list is an anomaly the likes of which has never been seen. It happens to be this way considering all of the other things he did on the court while recording over 26,700 points in his career. Robertson was the first man in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season, all while playing some of the best perimeter defense in the NBA at the time. Robertson made his teammates better and shattered NBA records while doing it and still finished 13th in the NBA’s all-time scoring race.
For his career, Robertson either matched or passed 30.0 PPG six times in 14 seasons. In his first eight seasons, Robertson averaged 30.3 PPG on 48.7% shooting from the field. He recorded seven straight seasons with at least 2,000 points to begin his career while winning seven assists titles as well. Robertson did not average under 24.0 PPG until his 11th season in the NBA, the year in which he won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks.
12. Hakeem Olajuwon – 26,946 Points
Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 21.8 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 3.1 BPG
Games Played: 1,238 Games
Widely regarded as the greatest defender in NBA history, Hakeem Olajuwon also sits 12th all-time in scoring in NBA history. While Olajuwon was busty shutting down opponents in the paint on defense, he was also schooling them on offense with his patented Dream Shake and elusive footwork and moves that were deemed unguardable. It is a large part of why he grabbed back-to-back NBA championships and Finals MVP awards in 1994 and 1995.
In each of his first 13 seasons, Olajuwon was at least a 20.0 PPG scorer. He won two rebounding titles and three blocks titles during this time as well, with little focus on what he was doing on the offensive end of the floor. In his two championship seasons, Hakeem averaged over 27.0 PPG for the only time in his career and two of his four career 2,000-point seasons. As great as he is remembered for his defensive ability, Olajuwon was a force to be reckoned with on offense just as well.
11. Elvin Hayes – 27,313 Points
Credit: Malcolm Emmons – USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 21.0 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 2.0 BPG
Games Played: 1,303 Games
Elvin Hayes is a player that should be remembered much more fondly for what he accomplished on the basketball court. He is remembered as a brash teammate who was not well-liked by many teammates or media members during his playing days. Hayes was an interior force both on the glass and as a scorer, cleaning up misses and dominating opponents regularly. Hayes could also shoot the ball a little bit from just outside the paint, but he mostly relied on his physical dominance to get his points.
In his rookie season, Hayes let everyone know he was going to be an all-time great scorer by winning the scoring title with 28.4 PPG. It would be the only scoring title of his career, but he did not average under 21.0 PPG until eight seasons later in 1976. He is one of the very few players to average at least 20.0 PPG and 10.0 RPG for his career. His four 2,000-point seasons came in the first four seasons of his career as well, and he added eight more 1,500-point seasons after that. Hayes is also an NBA champion and probably should be a Finals MVP, but again, the media and Hayes had a very shaky relationship.
10. Moses Malone – 27,409 Points
Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 20.3 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 1.3 BPG
Games Played: 1,455 Games
As we crack the Top 10 of the NBA’s all-time scoring list, we are welcomed by Moses Malone. As a player who went to work on the boards and from the foul line, Malone easily cracks the Top 10 as one of just 11 players with at least 27,000 career points. Malone was virtually unstoppable on the low post and put quite the soft touch on the ball for easy baskets. It wasn’t the prettiest, but it got the job done and earned him three MVP awards and a Finals MVP award in the process.
Moses Malone never won a scoring title and never led the league in total points scored. He was, however, consistent as they come once he became a Houston Rocket in 1978. In 1979, Malone had his first 20.0 PPG season and would proceed to do the same for the next 11 seasons in a row. He peaked at 31.1 PPG in 1982 and, in 1983, averaged 24.5 PPG while leading the Sixers to an NBA championship. He became a 13-time NBA All-Star while also being one of the few players in NBA history to average at least 20.0 PPG and 10.0 RPG for their careers.
9. Carmelo Anthony – 28,289 Points
Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 22.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Games Played: 1,260 Games
The most disrespected member of the Top 10 scorers in NBA history is Carmelo Anthony. Constantly ridiculed for his lack of an NBA championship and lack of defensive abilities, Anthony was still one of the most talented scorers in the NBA over the last 20 years. In his earlier days with the nuggets, Carmelo was a true three-level threat that no opponent wanted to match up with. His strength, accuracy, and skill made him one of the toughest matchups in the league at the time. In his later days with the Knicks, Anthony relied more on his perimeter game to score, and it worked perfectly.
It took 15 years for Anthony to finally record a season of under 20.0 PPG. Over the first 14 seasons of his career, he averaged 24.8 PPG on 45.2% shooting. In 2013, he won the only scoring title of his career with a 28.7 PPG average for the Knicks. He has knocked down over 1,700 three-pointers in his career as well, with an average of 35.5% from that range. His abilities on all levels as a scorer have somehow gone underappreciated over the years due to ring culture poisoning the minds of fans everywhere.
8. Shaquille O’Neal – 28,596 Points
Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 23.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 0.6 SPG, 2.3 BPG
Games Played: 1,207 Games
Now, we come to the most dominant interior player of the last 50 years. Shaquille O’Neal brutalized opponents in the paint and on the low post for close to two decades in the NBA. He was especially dominant from 2000 thru 2002, when he won three straight NBA championships with the Lakers and claimed all three Finals MVP awards. He was another interior player who abused opponents with his strength and movement for a man his size, which left the opposition clueless as to what to do with him.
O’Neal was a 20.0 PPG scorer for the first 14 seasons of his career. He won two scoring titles in 1995 and 2000, one of which being one of the best seasons by an individual we have ever seen. He averaged at least 25.0 PPG 10 times in his 19 seasons in the NBA and led the NBA in field goal percentage 10 times as well. O’Neal was strong, big, and athletic as any other big man we have ever seen in NBA history.
7. Wilt Chamberlain – 31,419 Points
Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 30.07 PPG, 22.9 RPG, 4.4 APG
Games Played: 1,045 Games
As far as dominance goes, Wilt Chamberlain sure would like to have some words with Shaq about that title. Chamberlain was well ahead of his time on the basketball court, showing athleticism and skill the NBA world had never seen from the moment he stepped foot on the court. He was unstoppable in set offenses in the post and paint but was even more deadly on the open floor. With his finger roll, dunk package, and high basketball IQ, Wilt became one of the greatest players in NBA history at a very early stage in his career.
To begin his career, Chamberlain won himself seven straight scoring titles averaging 39.6 PPG over that time. He set an NBA record in 1962 by averaging 50.4 PPG and would average over 35.0 PPG six times. Wilt only averaged below 20.0 PPG twice in 14 seasons in the NBA, both seasons coming when his career and body were wearing down. Nobody dominated the offensive game in the paint as Wilt Chamberlain did in his NBA career.
6. Dirk Nowitzki – 31,560 Points
Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 20.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG
Games Played: 1,522 Games
For 20 years, we watched as Dirk Nowitzki broke the mold for what we thought a typical power forward should be. For a man standing 7’0’’ tall, Nowitzki was the greatest perimeter scorer that we have ever seen. He could shoot the three-ball at a high rate and was someone you did not want to see get hot from that range. He also dominated from the mid-range area, armed with an unstoppable one-legged fadeaway that no defender could hope to even stop.
Nowitzki was never a scoring title winner or led the league in total points. All he did was exude consistency and greatness for 20 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. For 13 seasons from 2001 thru 2012, Nowitzki averaged at least 20.0 PPG and 24.1 PPG overall. He won an MVP in 2007, averaging 24.6 PPG, and led the Mavericks to their only NBA championship in 2011, averaging 23.0 PPG. His offensive game was not limited to the outside, though, as he could easily use his shooting prowess to blow by defenders off the dribble when he caught them off balance.
5. Michael Jordan – 32,292 Points
Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.3 APG, 2.3 SPG, 0.8 BPG
Games Played: 1,072 Games
Only five players in NBA history have ever reached the 32,000-point plateau. We kick off the Top Five with the greatest player in NBA history, Michael Jordan. There was no way on the court that Michael Jordan could not kill his opponent. In transition, he was as lethal as they come and usually got things started with a defensive play on the other end. He couldn’t miss from the mid-range, and forget about him being inefficient as a scorer at the rim. The only reason he isn’t far higher on this is due to retiring twice when he had a lot more basketball in him.
Michael Jordan won an NBA record 10 scoring titles in his career, including seven straight from 1987 thru 1993. He is arguably the best Finals performer ever, with six Finals MVP awards and six NBA championships. Jordan is the all-time leader in PPG over Wilt with 30.1 PPG and holds the highest all-time scoring average in a Finals series with 41.0 PPG in 1993. Although he sits at number five here, Michael Jordan is the greatest scorer ever.
4. Kobe Bryant – 33,643 Points
Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 25.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Games Played: 1,346 Games
Coming in at number four, we have the spitting image of Michael Jordan in Kobe Bryant. Kobe was also a three-level killer who never met a shot he didn’t want to take. He may not be the most accurate shooter ever, but you better believe he was going to outwork and out-hustle you on almost every play. Kobe’s scoring led to five NBA titles, an MVP award, and two Finals MVP awards with the Lakers over the span of 20 seasons in the NBA.
After riding the bench for the first few seasons of his career, Kobe became a 20.0 PPG scorer in the 1999-00 season, the year he took home his first NBA title. He would not average under 20.0 PPG until his final season in 2016. He won back-to-back scoring titles in 2006 and 2007, averaging over 30.0 PPG each of those two seasons. If Jordan is the greatest scorer ever, Kobe is Top Three, and that is a debate that cannot be had.
3. Karl Malone – 36,928 Points
Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 25.0 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.8 BPG
Games Played: 1,476 Games
Before LeBron James showed what consistent greatness is supposed to look like, there was Karl Malone. Never a scoring champion, Malone got the job done with 17 straight seasons of at least 20.0 PPG. He holds the NBA record for the most consecutive 2,000-point seasons with 11. He did all of this while working one of the best pick-and-roll duos ever with John Stockton and possessing a beautiful short jump shot that was as accurate as any other shot in his arsenal.
Malone’s best season as a scorer came in 1990 when he played all 82 games and averaged 31.0 PPG, the only time he eclipsed 30.0 PPG in his career. From 1988 thru 1993 was definitely his peak as a scorer, as he averaged 28.6 PPG over that time period. While his spots in the paint and low post were his go-to spots, Malone was also as talented as anyone his size on fast breaks and in transition. Let’s just cool down on the whole “he got his points from playing with Stockton” narrative that seems to be so popular these days.
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 38,387 Points
Credit: MPS-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 24.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 2.6 BPG
Games Played: 1,560 Games
For the first time in my lifetime, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is no longer the NBA’s all-time leader in points. Kareem held the record for 38 years before LeBron James buried it Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Kareem, armed with the best signature move in history, dominated the NBA scoring-wise for 20 seasons in the 70s and 80s to the tune of six MVP awards and six NBA championships with the Bucks and Lakers.
Things began for Kareem as a rookie when he cruised to the Rookie of the Year award with 28.8 PPG. He would win the next two scoring titles with 31.7 PPG in 1971 and 34.8 PPG in 1972. He would average over 30.0 PPG two more times in his career and wouldn’t average less than 20.0 PPG until 1987, his 18th season in the NBA. Kareem was the ideal scoring champion for nearly four decades, and although his record has fallen, his place atop the Mount Rushmore of basketball remains intact and is timeless.
1. LeBron James – 38,390 Points
Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 27.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.8 BPG
Games Played: 1,410 Games
For the first time in 40 years, we are speaking of a new man as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. On Tuesday night, with a signature one-legged stepback, LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the scoring king. Over the last 20 years, we have watched the weight of the world placed upon an 18-year-old’s shoulders, and all he did was exceed our wildest expectations. What he has done is remarkable with his unrelenting attack on the basket as well as NBA history.
What makes LeBron’s record remarkable is the fact that he is still going and will likely become the first NBA player ever with 40,000 points. He has never averaged less than 20.0 PPG in his career and has averaged at least 25.0 PPG for the last 19 seasons. He won one scoring title in 2008, averaging 30.0 PPG but has averaged at least 30.0 PPG four times in his career, which includes what he is doing at age 38 in 2022-23. For now, there is only one LeBron James and only one NBA scoring leader. Congrats LeBron.
Source: fadeawayworld
