Who Has Scored The Most Points In The NBA?
Contents
The answer to this question may surprise you – it is not LeBron James or Michael Jordan. The player with the most points in the NBA is actually Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who racked up a total of 38,387 points during his illustrious career.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is one of the most successful basketball players of all time. He played 15 seasons in the NBA and was a member of six NBA championship teams. Jordan was also a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the all-time leading scorer in the NBA with 32,292 points.
Regular Season
In the regular season, Jordan ranks fourth in scoring average (30.12 points per game), fifth in field goal percentage (49.7%), sixth in steals per game (2.3), and 14th in assists per game (5.3).[1][2] He played in 10 All-Star Games, was the All-Star MVP three times, and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1988.[3] In his 15 NBA seasons, Jordan missed a total of 28 games, including 18 during his two seasons with the Wizards.[4]
During his career with the Bulls, he won six NBA Championships (1991–1993, 1996–1998). He also holds the record for most seasons with a playoff average of 30 points or more (11).[5][6] In 1997 and 1998, Jordan led Chicago to consecutive NBA championships. He became one of only four players to win back-to-back Finals MVP honors.[7][8] In 1995 he was honored with the prestigious Athlete of the Year Award by the Sporting News.[9]
In 1999, Jordan retired from basketball for a second time. Six years later, he became part-owner and head of basketball operations for The Charlotte Bobcats,[10][11] who joined the NBA as an expansion team in 2004. In 2010, he became majority owner of the Bobcats after acquiring a controlling interest in the team from founder Robert L. Johnson.[12][13][14]
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Jordan averaged 33.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. He holds the postseason record for highest career scoring average with 33.45 points per game, as well as averages of 6.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. Jordan also set other significant playoff records including the most field goals made (1,176), the most free throws made (815), the most scoring titles (10), and the most All-Defensive First Team selections (9). He is one of only two players in NBA history to score more than 200 points in a playoff series; he accomplished this feat four times (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989). In 1991 and 1992, Jordan’s appearances in the NBA Finals were overshadowed by Magic Johnson’s comeback from HIV infection and retirement due toollywood movie starring Will Smith as the titular character); with an estimated budget of less than $10 million USD (depending on how marketing expenses are treated), it is considered one of the most successful television films of all time
LeBron James
LeBron James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. James has scored the most points in the NBA.
Regular Season
LeBron James has scored the most points in the NBA during the regular season. He has achieved this by playing for some of the best teams in the league and winning multiple championships. He is a 3-time MVP and has been named to the All-Star team 12 times.
Playoffs
LeBron James has been to the NBA Finals an incredible ten times in his sixteen seasons – only Bill Russell ( eleven times) and Sam Jones (ten times) have been there more. He has played in 158 playoff games, just two behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in history, and his 35.3 points per game is the highest of any player who has played at least ten playoff games. He’s scored 5,995 total points in the playoffs, 700 more than anyone else. When he gets to 6,000 career playoff points, he’ll be just the sixth player in history to do so.
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant is an American professional basketball player. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time.Bryant is the son of former NBA player Joe Bryant.
Regular Season
Kobe Bryant played 20 seasons in the NBA, all with the Los Angeles Lakers. He entered the league as a 17-year-old rookie in 1996 and became one of the greatest players of his generation. Kobe was a five-time champion, a two-time Finals MVP, and a one-time regular season MVP. He was also a 18-time All-Star and a 12-time member of the All-NBA team.
Kobe is fourth on the all-time scoring list with 33,643 points. He averaged 25 points per game over his career. Kobe is also fifth on the all-time assists list with 6,723 assists. He averaged 5.2 assists per game over his career.
Playoffs
Kobe Bryant played a total of 1,346 games in his NBA career – of those, 220 were playoff games. He scored 5,640 points in the playoffs, which is the second-most in NBA history behind only Michael Jordan.
Bryant’s highest scoring season came in 2005-06, when he averaged 35.4 points per game and led the Lakers to the NBA Finals. He scored at least 50 points in 11 different playoff games, including an iconic 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors in 2006.
In his final playoff series in 2016, Bryant scored 60 points in his final game – a heroic effort that wasn’t enough to lift his team to victory. It was a fitting end to one of the greatest careers in NBA history.
Karl Malone
Karl Malone is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1985 to 2004. Malone is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. He was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a 14-time NBA All-Star, and an 11-time member of the All-NBA first team. He scored the second most points in NBA history with 36,928.
Regular Season
Malone is second on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He is also the only player in NBA history to score more than 36,000 points. Malone accumulated those points over the course of his 19-year career, which included 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz and one with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Malone’s scoring average rose to 25.6 points per game. He helped lead the Jazz to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, but they lost both times to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. In the 1997 Finals, Malone was named the MVP after averaging 27.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki is a German professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An alumnus of the University of Wisconsin, Nowitzki was drafted ninth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1998 NBA draft. He is the sixth player in NBA history to score over 30,000 points, and is also one of seven players to achieve a career average of at least 20 points per game.
Regular Season
Dirk Nowitzki has played his entire career with the Dallas Mavericks, joining the team as a 19-year-old rookie in 1998. He quickly became one of the best players in the NBA, winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 1999. In his second season, he was named an All-Star for the first time. Nowitzki has been named an All-Star a total of 14 times, and he was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2007. He has led the Mavericks to 15 playoff appearances, including an appearance in the NBA Finals in 2006.
Nowitzki is one of the highest-scoring players in NBA history. He is currently seventh on the all-time scoring list with 31,560 points. He is also Dallas’ all-time leader in points, games played, and field goals made.
Playoffs
Dirk Nowitzki has appeared in 158 playoff games (155 starts), all with the Mavericks, and holds the franchise postseason records for games played, points (5,487), field goals made (1,994) and attempted (4,272), three-point field goals made (377) and attempted (929), free throws made (1,116) and attempted (1,396), defensive rebounds (792), offensive rebounds (392), total rebounds (1,184), assists (780) and blocks 172). He ranks second in steals (211). Nowitzki averaged 26.4 points (.459 FG%, .368 3pt%, .847 FT%), 10.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 blocks in 41.0 minutes per game during his playoff career.
