The total number of points scored by a player throughout their NBA career is called the NBA career scoring leader. It takes into account all the points they have scored for their respective teams. LeBron James holds the record for the highest number of points scored in the NBA. He is the all-time leading scorer.
NBA Career Scoring Leaders Of All Time: 1. LeBron James, 2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), 3. Karl Malone (36,928), 4. Kobe Bryant (33,643), 5. Michael Jordan (32,292), 6. Dirk Nowitzki (31,560), and 7. Wilt Chamberlain (31,419).
By looking at the overall scoring stats of NBA players, it is possible to identify who has contributed the most to their team. This information can help us to get an understanding of the scoring ability of each team, though it may not be the best way to determine the best player since it only takes into account those who play offensive positions. Such stats cannot be used for those playing in a more defensive role. Here’s a list of NBA career points-scoring leaders:
1. LeBron James
“King James”, Lebron Raymone James Sr. is an American Professional Basketball player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time. Representing the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA league, James has had a distinguished career, having previously played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.
Before joining the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was selected to represent the U.S.A. in Men’s Basketball and went on to win two Olympic gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics, as well as a bronze Olympic medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
LeBron James has been the NBA Champion 4 times and the NBA Finals MVP 4 times. In addition, he has been crowned the NBA Most Valuable Player 4 times and has been named 18 times the NBA All-Star. He is a small forward or power forward for his team. At a young age, James achieved 30,000 points in his career. On February 7, 2022, he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 39 years NBA record for most career points with 38,388 points, having played in 1410 games up until then.
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 38,387 points
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player who spent 20 seasons in the NBA. He started his career with the Milwaukee Bucks and then moved to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played as the center of the team. After retiring, he became a coach and worked with Alchesay HS, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma Storm, and Los Angeles Lakers.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is renowned for his six NBA Championships and two NBA Finals MVPs. He has also won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award six times and earned a spot in the All-Star team nineteen times. At the end of his career, he had become the NBA’s all-time highest scorer with 38,387 points and 1560 games. He also held the record for almost 38 years as the most points scorer in NBA. Additionally, he ranks third for both rebounds and blocked shots. ESPN named him one of the best centers in 2007 and the second-best NBA player.
3. Karl Malone – 36,928
Karl Malone, also known as “The Mailman,” is one of the most renowned power forwards in the history of the NBA. During his time with the Utah Jazz, he and John Stockton created an unbeatable duo, making them a formidable team. After one year with the Los Angeles Lakers, he retired to become the head coach of Louisiana Tech until 2011. Malone was also on the U.S. Men’s Basketball Team that earned two gold medals in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics in Barcelona and Atlanta, respectively.
Karl Malone has won the title of Most Valuable Player in the NBA two times. He is famously known to be one of the best at free throws and has achieved a league record seven times. Malone was a skilled defender and rebounder and even at the age of 40, maintained his best play. He is the oldest player to log a triple-double and to be a starter on an NBA Finals-bound team. The fact that he played in 1,476 NBA games and scored a total of 36,928 points is a clear demonstration of his remarkable talents. His average points per game are 25 points and he used his physical power and stamina to outrun his opponents, leading to layups and fastbreak dunks with the help of Stockton.
4. Kobe Bryant – 33,643
Kobe Bean Bryant, also known as Kobe Bryant, was an American professional Basketball player who was widely considered to be one of the best shooting guards in NBA history. His 20-year career in the NBA was exclusively spent with the Los Angeles Lakers and his legacy has been cemented as one of the best players to ever grace the league. He proudly represented the U.S.A. with the Men’s Basketball team and won two gold Olympic medals in 2008 in Beijing and again in 2012 in London. Unfortunately, Bryant passed away in 2020 after a helicopter crash.
Kobe Bryant is renowned for his 5 NBA Championship titles, 2 NBA Finals MVP awards, and 1 NBA Most Valuable Player award. Across his career, he was featured in 18 NBA All-Star games and is the only guard to have played in 20 seasons of the NBA. He is also remembered for his astounding 81 points in a single game, coming in second to Wilt Chamberlain’s record. As a Los Angeles Laker, he achieved 33,643 points with an average of 25 points a game, as well as 7,047 rebounds and 6,306 assists.
5. Michael Jordan – 32,292
Michael Jordan is chosen as one of the most dominant basketball players to have ever existed. He won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and was able to score 37.1 points per game. During the 1980s and 1990s, he helped the NBA become popular worldwide and was a significant symbol of global culture. Jordan had two teams during his career, the Bulls and the Washington Wizards, with the Bulls being the team he scored the most points against.
Michael Jordan achieved excellence in the NBA, earning the title of Finals MVP six times, the MVP award five times, and being named an All-Star 14 times, with three All-Star MVP awards. Popularly known as “Air Jordan” and “His Airness,” he was the only player in NBA history to be named Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player. He was an outstanding defensive player, with a total of 2,514 stolen balls. Doc Rivers even went so far as to call him “the best superstar defender in the history of the game.” Jordan’s career stats are impressive, with a total of 32,292 points scored, an average of 30.1 points per game, 6,672 rebounds, and 5,633 assists for an average of 5.3 assists per game.
6. Dirk Nowitzki – 31,560
Dirk Werner Nowitzki, more commonly known as Dirk Nowitzki, is a German professional basketball player who has played for the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks. Representing Germany, Nowitzki has won the Bronze medal at the 2002 Indianapolis World Cup and the Silver medal at the 2005 Serbia and Montenegro EuroBasket.
Dirk Nowitzki has achieved some impressive feats in the NBA; he won the Championship and the Finals MVP once and was also named the Most Valuable Player. Furthermore, he was selected for the All-Star team 14 times, making him one of the highest-scoring foreign players in NBA history. His long 7-feet frame and unique shooting style made him a formidable opponent, giving other teams difficulty in trying to tackle him.
Nowitzki’s one-leg fadeaway was the second most difficult move to defend after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s skyhook. Dirk Nowitzki was the first European to hit 30,000 points in his NBA Career Scores. His total career scoring points are 31,560 which is a career average of 20.7 points per game. His rebounds are 11,489 which is a career average of 7.5 rebounds per game and 3,651 career assists.
7. Wilt Chamberlain – 31,419
The legendary American basketball player, Wilt Chamberlain, who was commonly known as Wilt, was a center throughout his 14-year-long NBA career. Before joining the NBA, Wilt played for both the Kansas Jayhawks and the Harlem Globetrotters. Chamberlain was the NBA season scoring leader not once, not twice, but a total of seven times – five times while he was with the Philadelphia Warriors and two times while with the Philadelphia 76ers. He holds the record for the highest single-season score at 50.4 points, which is one of the most impressive scores achieved by any NBA player.
Wilt Chamberlain is renowned for being the only player in NBA history to have an average of 30 points and 20 rebounds per game, which he did seven times, and he was the only one to score 100 points in a single game. His tall stature of 7 feet 1 inch earned him the nickname “the Big Dipper”, as he had to always lower his head to get through doorways.
He scored an average of 30.1 points per game for his NBA career, totaling 31,419 points before retirement. His rebounds earned him 23,924 during his career, with a career average of 22.9 rebounds per game. He also had 4,643 assists per game on average.
Top 20 All time NBA scorers list
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LeBron James | 38,388 |
| 2 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 38,387 |
| 3 | Karl Malone | 36,928 |
| 4 | Kobe Bryant | 33,643 |
| 5 | Michael Jordan | 32,292 |
| 6 | Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 |
| 7 | Wilt Chamberlain | 31,419 |
| 8 | Shaquille O’Neal | 28,596 |
| 9 | Carmelo Anthony | 28,289 |
| 10 | Moses Malone | 27,409 |
| 11 | Elvin Hayes | 27,313 |
| 12 | Hakeem Olajuwon | 26,946 |
| 13 | Oscar Robertson | 26,710 |
| 14 | Dominique Wilkins | 26,668 |
| 15 | Tim Duncan | 26,496 |
| 16 | Kevin Durant | 26,484 |
| 17 | Paul Pierce | 26,397 |
| 18 | John Havlicek | 26,395 |
| 19 | Kevin Garnett | 26,071 |
| 20 | Vince Carter | 25,728 |
Conclusion
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