The list that everyone wants to be part of. After more than 70 years of competition, the list of top scorers in NBA history It is a kind of basketball Hall of Fame, a list of names that shows the most illustrious players in the North American league.
LeBron, leader of the top scorers in NBA history
Led for more than 38 years by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and succeeded in 2023 by LeBron James, the list of top scorers in NBA history It is a document that is consulted practically daily by fans and journalists who cover the competition.
Jabbar, the former legendary Milwaukee Bucks center and Los Angeles Lakers, was the top scorer in the history of the League since April 6, 1984, day he got his 31.421st point in a meeting between Lakers and Jazz after scoring a basket —sky hook, of course—on another established center, Mark Eaton, until February 7, 2023.
That day he was surpassed by another illustrious player from Los Lakers, Lebron James, the only player capable of approaching—and surpassing—Jabbar's mark after having remained in the NBA for 20 seasons with unthinkable production in the history of the league. Since then he has been adding points and In March 2024, he managed to overcome the barrier of 40.000 points scored, absolute statistical madness.
Michael Jordan, the one with the best average
For many, Michael Jordan is the best player in NBA history. The escort of Chicago Bulls He was an insatiable scorer capable of achieving the unimaginable, but his scoring background leaves him far from first place and even other players who have come later have surpassed him on the list of top scorers, such as Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. .
So why, if Jordan was so prolific in scoring, isn't he higher on the list? Simple. Throughout his career, Michael Jordan retired from the NBA twice for different reasons in addition to reaching the American professional league in 1984 at the age of 22 after having completed his entire university cycle. Arriving so late in the League—Kobe Bryant and LeBron James did so when they were 17—and retiring from it in 1993 and 1998 prevented him from playing more games at his best physical moment and for that reason solo It reached 32.292 points.
But it is precisely the data of his average match points that identifies him as the best scorer in history. Michael Jordan scored, on average, 30,12 points per night, a figure unattainable for the vast majority of players in a season, let alone in a 15-year career. Only Wilt Chamberlain, with 30,06 points on average, overshadows the Bulls star and others like LeBron James, Allen Iverson or Elgin Baylor are far from His Airness.
The top scorers in NBA history
In list of top scorers in NBA history The 30 players who have scored the most points throughout their career in the regular season are included, also detailing the corresponding average according to the games played.
So far in the XNUMXst century, eight men in the top ten have increased their score: Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, the latter two still active. Dirk Nowitzki managed to reach 30.000 points on March 7, 2017 and LeBron James did so on January 23, 2018.
As an anecdote, it should be said that of the list of 30 top scorers, only Alex English is not included in the 75th anniversary NBA team which can be consulted in the highlights side menu of this website. Adrian Dantley was also in that same situation, but throughout the 2021-22 season, the 75th anniversary of the league, Russell Westbrook, during his time with the Lakers, surpassed him.
| POS | PLAYER | POINTS | MEDIA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lebron James * | 40.017 | 27,1 |
| 2 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 38.387 | 24,6 |
| 3 | Karl Malone | 36.928 | 25 |
| 4 | Kobe Bryant | 33.643 | 25 |
| 5 | Michael Jordan | 32.292 | 30,1 |
| 6 | Dirk Nowitzki | 31.560 | 20,7 |
| 7 | Wilt Chamberlain | 31.419 | 30,1 |
| 8 | Shaquille O'Neal | 28.596 | 23,7 |
| 9 | Kevin Durant * | 28.392 | 27,3 |
| 10 | Carmelo Anthony | 28.289 | 22,5 |
| 11 | Moses Malone | 27.409 | 20,6 |
| 12 | Elvin Hayes | 27.313 | 21 |
| 13 | Hakeem Olajuwon | 26.946 | 21,8 |
| 14 | Oscar Robertson | 26.710 | 25,7 |
| 15 | Dominique wilkins | 26.668 | 24,8 |
| 16 | Tim Duncan | 26.496 | 19 |
| 17 | Paul Pierce | 26.397 | 19,7 |
| 18 | John Havlicek | 26.395 | 20,8 |
| 19 | Kevin Garnett | 26.071 | 17,8 |
| 20 | Vince carter | 25.728 | 16,7 |
| 21 | James Harden* | 25.632 | 24,3 |
| 22 | Alex English | 25.613 | 21,5 |
| 23 | Reggie Miller | 25.279 | 18,2 |
| 24 | Jerry West | 25.192 | 27 |
| 25 | Russell Westbrook* | 25.098 | 21,8 |
| 26 | Patrick Ewing | 24.815 | 21 |
| 27 | Ray Allen | 24.505 | 18,9 |
| 28 | Allen Iverson | 24.368 | 26,7 |
| 29 | Charles Barkley | 23.757 | 22,1 |
| 30 | Robert parish | 23.334 | 14,5 |
Active players have an asterisk. Updated as of March 4, 2024. The lists of top scorers do not include playoffs, play-in or final data. the NBA Cup. Data from NBA.com.
(Cover photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
