Best Scorers in NBA History – Top 6

The National Basketball Association (NBA) remains one of the most iconic sporting institutions in the world, having enjoyed exponential growth and rising popularity since its launch in New York on August 3rd, 1949. The NBA and its competing franchises have also done much to popularize betting on sports in the US, unlocking a large number of markets and proposition wagers.

The NBA has also been graced by some incredibly talented players, with forwards and centers most likely to capture the imagination of fans. This number includes the best scorers in NBA history, some of whom have showcased incredible longevity and won a litany of honors. But who are the top NBA scorers through history? Let’s get into it!

• Who are the NBA Top Scorers All-time?
• LeBron James – The NBA All-time Leading Scorer
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – A Six-time MVP
• Karl Malone – The Sport’s Best Ever Power Forward
• Kobe Bryant – Leaving an Incredible Point-scoring Legacy
• Michael Jordan – The NBA’s First Genuine Superstar

Who are the NBA Top Scorers All-time?

Analysis of the all-time NBA statistics suggests that the league now produces lower-scoring matches when compared to the 1960s. In fact, each of the eight seasons with the highest points-per-game ratio in the NBA took place between 1959 and 1970, with the 1961/62 campaign leading the way. This produced an average of 118.8 points per game, while 107.7 field goal attempts were also recorded during a typical match.

The average points-per-game ratio had fallen to 110.6 by the 2021/22 campaign. However, the previous two seasons have seen a marked increase in attacking output, with the 2022/23 campaign yielding an average of 114.7 points-per-game. In the most recent NBA Championship, the PPG ratio has reached 114.2, placing it as the 10th most prolific season in the tournament’s history.

With these statistics in mind, you may wonder why only one of the top 10 NBA all time highest scorers played frequently during the 1960s? Well, this is largely due to the number of games played. Just 360 NBA matches were contested during the top-scoring 1961/62 campaign, for example, while 1,230 are now played by competing franchises.

When appraising the players that lead the NBA top scorers all-time list, you’ll also note that just two of the top 10 are still playing. Between them, the top 10 players have also scored a staggering 330,512 points in the NBA, while two have averaged more than 30 points per game during their careers. So, let’s take a closer look at the best scorers in NBA history!

LeBron James – The NBA all-time leading scorer

We’ll start with the legendary LeBron James, who is already the NBA all-time leading scorer and continues to ply his trade for the Los Angeles Lakers. The 39-year-old small forward has now contributed a staggering 40,474 points during his 21-year career, which has also seen him play 1,492 games for three different franchises (including the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat).

The incredible thing about ‘King James’ is that he has maintained an amazing level of consistency throughout his career. To this end, he averages 27.1 points per NBA game, while he has made 14,837 field goals and completed 8,390 free throws. He has also made 2,410 three-point field goals, with only five players recording more in NBA history.

James is also a quintessential big-game player, having scored a record 8,162 points in 287 play-off matches. This equates to an PPG average of 28.43 in play-off games, which suggests that King James tends to save his best performances for the biggest encounters. Interestingly, he has also made 2067 assists during NBA play-off matches, with only Magic Johnson performing better according to this metric (2346).

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – A Six-time MVP

Next up is the former Milwaukee Bucks and LA Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is a legend of the NBA and scored 38,387 points during his career. He has also made the second–highest number of appearances in the NBA (1,560), with only fellow center Robert Parish (1,611) achieving more.

During his 20-year career, Abdul-Jabbar averaged 24.6 points per NBA game, while making 15,837 field goals (which is more than LeBron James). He also made an impressive 6,712 free throws, although his tally of just one three-point field goal is one of the lowest among his contemporaries.

In his 237 play-off appearances, the ‘Tower from Power’ scored 5,762 points at an average of 24.32 points per game. This is only marginally lower than his overall average and hints at an incredibly consistent level of performance across all NBA matches. Interestingly, Abdul-Jabbar is also a six-time MVP, while he famously played in the match where teammate Kermit Washington delivered a devastating one-punch knockout to Rudy Tomjanovich.

Karl Malone – The Sport’s Best Ever Power Forward

Karl Malone can lay claim to being the NBA’s best ever power forward, having scored 36,928 points in 1,476 appearances. ‘The Mailman’ (so-called because he always delivered) also scored at a rate of 25.0 points-per-game across the duration of his career, while making a total of 13,528 field goals.

Malone also made 9,787 free throws while representing Utah Jazz and the LA Lakers between 1985 and 2004, with no player registering more in the NBA through history. He made 85 three-point field goals in his career too, with his consistency, temperament and all-round game more than justifying his status as one of the best scorers in NBA history.

Karl Malone played less play-off games than some of his peers on this list, making 193 such appearances in total. However, these still yielded a total of 4,761 points at an average of 24.66 per game. As a result, Malone is the eighth highest scorer in NBA play-off encounters, and often starred for the Los Angeles Lakers as a big-game performer!

Kobe Bryant – Leaving an Incredible Point-scoring Legacy

The late, great Kobe Bryant is not only one of the NBA top scorers all-time, but he also left an incredible legacy after his untimely death following a helicopter crash in 2020. Bryant had not long called time on a 20-year playing career that saw him represent the Los Angeles Lakers, during which he scored a total of 33,643 points in 1,346 NBA games.

Bryant scored at a rate of 25.0 PPG during his career, matching former teammate Karl Malone exactly. The shooting guard also made 11,719 field goals and 1,827 three-point field goals, so he was clear and obvious threat anywhere on the court. He also made 8,378 free throws, which is only 12 fewer than LeBron James at the time of writing.

The ‘Lord of the Rings’ remains the all-time top scorer in Lakers’ history, while his 220 play-off appearances for LA saw him score an impressive 5,640 points (at an average of 25.63 per 48 minutes). Interestingly, Kobe also retired with 18 All-Star designations, with this tally on bettered by James (20) and Abdul-Jabbar (19).

Michael Jordan – The NBA’s First Genuine Superstar

Although Michael Jordan only played for 15 NBA seasons in total, he managed to win six championships and is still widely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all-time. He also scored an impressive 32,292 points in his 1,072 career games in the NBA, at a startling average of 30.1 PPG.

It can be argued that had Jordan played for as long as LeBron James has managed, he would probably still have the distinction of being the NBA all-time leading scorer. He also made 12,192 field goals and 581 three-point field goals during an illustrious career, while converting 7,327 free throws as a shooting guard.

Incredibly, ‘Air Jordan’ also scored 5,987 points in just 179 play-off matches in the NBA. This equates to a superb PPG ratio of 33.44 during such matches, underlining his reputation as being a key performer in the biggest of games. Ultimately, we don’t know how many points Jordan will finish behind LeBron James in the all-time NBA scorer list, but nothing will detract from his status and achievements in the sport!

The Bottom Line

Honorable mentions go to center Wilt Chamberlain, who played mostly during the 1960s and is the seventh top scorer in the history of the NBA. Like Jordan, he averaged an impressive 30.1 points-per-game in the NBA, although he only scored a total of 3,607 points in 160 play-off matches during his career.

Current Pheonix Suns’ power forward Kevin Durrant is the eighth highest NBA scorer too. He has notched 28,924 points in 1,061 games at the competitive rate of 27.3 PPG and is the only current player in the top 10 apart from LeBron James. He has also played for 16 seasons, representing the Seattle SuperSonics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets in addition to the Suns.

It’s an interesting aside that four of the five most prolific NBA scorers through history have plied their trade for the LA Lakers. The only exception to this rule is Michael Jordan, who scored most of his points for the Chicago Bulls before representing the Washington Wizards between 2001 and 2003.