Lebron James became the all-time leading scorer in the 2022-23 season. He has a long career of consistent scoring which has catapulted him to the top of the list. However, does this make him a better pure scorer than the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan? If they were all in their prime, which player would you trust the most to get your team a bucket? Is it the inside dominance of Wilt, the sheer strength of Lebron, or the shot-creating mastery of MJ? Let's look at 10 of the greatest scorers in NBA history.
10 greatest scorers in NBA history, ranked
10. Stephen Curry
Curry may not average over 25 points per game in his career or be known for much more than his three-point shooting, but he is a lot more than that. He is lethal driving to the basket due to the respect defenders have to give him at the three-point line. He didn't average over 25 points per game in any of his first six seasons, but he has exploded in the years since. Curry has two seasons averaging over 30 points per game and is hitting over four three-pointers per game for seven of the last eight seasons. Curry is a two-time scoring champion and is already the leader in three-pointers made in NBA history. If he continues to hit threes at this pace for the rest of his career, it could be an unbreakable record.
9. Allen Iverson
Iverson is the only player in the top 50 all-time scorers below 6'0″. Iverson stuck around for 17 seasons in the NBA, but his nine-season run with the Philadelphia 76ers from 1998 to 2007 puts him on this list. He averaged over 30 points in four seasons and had another 30-point season in progress in 2007 before being traded to the Denver Nuggets. His highest average was 33 points per game in 2005-06, but he didn't win the scoring title. He did earn that honor in four other seasons. 13 players have averaged over 25 points per game in their career. Iverson and Jerry West are the only ones below 6'5″.
8. Jerry West
The logo isn't just known for his silhouette when dribbling the ball. West was among the first to prioritize jump shooting in an era focussing on below-the-rim play. His opposition was not prepared to defend this new style, which was shown with the points he accumulated. He averaged 27 points in his 14-year career and had four seasons of over 30 points per game. His scoring had an uptick in the postseason, posting a 40.6 mark in the 1965 playoffs. He averaged over 30 points per game seven times in the playoffs, as the Lakers made it to several NBA finals, but couldn't get his first ring until 1971-72. Ironically, that season was when he had his lowest postseason scoring average. West currently sits seventh on the all-time list in points per game but is close behind three active players.
7. James Harden
Whether you love Harden or hate him, Harden's impact as a scorer from 2014 to 2020 is hard to ignore. Harden's career has gone off the rails in the years since. His past three seasons have seen him average less than 25 points per game, which has knocked him down the list of scoring-average leaders. If he had settled into a team and kept his form up, Harden would be top-ten, but he now sits at 17th. He has also jumped Reggie Miller for third on the three-point leaders. He is likely to pass Ray Allen and sit second behind Stephen Curry. Harden is still a better scorer than Curry because of his ability to score from anywhere on the court. Also, his three-year run from 2017 to 2020 is one of the best in the modern era. He averaged 30.4, 36.1, and 34.3, winning three-straight scoring titles.
Harden's 36.1 mark in 2018-19 is seventh all-time behind five seasons of Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan.
6. Kevin Durant
Durant and Lebron have been the gold standards for scoring in the NBA since coming into the league. They are the only two players in the top 15 of total points. Of course, Lebron is No.1, but Durant currently sits at 15. If Durant hadn't had to miss portions with injury, he undoubtedly would be much higher on the list. In sticking with the injury concerns, Durant's career may be a bit shorter due to the issues. A healthy Durant career may have seen him challenge Lebron for No.1 on the list. He has averaged over 25 points per game in all 17 seasons, a mark which would have been 18 consecutive if he hadn't missed 2019-20 with an Achilles injury. His best season was 2013-14, when he averaged a career-high 32 points per game and won his only MVP. He is also a four-time scoring champ.
Adding to the legacy of him and Lebron in this era, only 14 players 6'9″ or taller have notched at least 1,000 threes. He and Lebron are the only ones to average at least 21.0 points per game over their career.
5. Kobe Bryant
Kobe may not have had dominating qualities like other people on the list. He didn't dominate inside like Kareem and Wilt or rain down three-pointers like Steph Curry (Although he is top-25 all-time currently). Bryant is known for being the ultimate shot creator. If he got into a one-on-one matchup, or even when double and triple-teamed, he was able to get himself a look at the rim. He would pump fake and maneuver his way into a clean-looking shot. For most players, these shots would be a bad one to take, but Kobe was able to make them more often than not. He was known for being a bit of a ball hog when playing, but someone who could score like that has the go-ahead to hold on to the ball.
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem was dominant at the beginning of his career with the Milwaukee Bucks. He averaged over 30 points per game in four of his six seasons with the Bucks. He didn't average 30 points per game again once he joined the Los Angeles Lakers. This was due to having a lot of talent surrounding him for much of his Lakers career. Kareem had to start sharing the ball more on these teams but still managed to average over 20 points per game in each of his first 17 seasons. He retired as the all-time leader in points with 38,387 but has since been passed by Lebron James. The 7'2″ center made the skyhook his go-to move, mastering the craft and making it an unblockable shot. If Kareem hadn't gone to play with those Lakers superteams, would his NBA points record have been much more challenging to reach?
3. Lebron James
Lebron took the No.1 spot in the all-time points list this past season, passing Kareem. He now has 19 straight NBA seasons of averaging over 25 points per game. No other player has more than 11 consecutive seasons with this mark. (Michael Jordan did it for 13 seasons in a row, but his hiatus in the middle of his career stopped the consecutive seasons record). Lebron showed no signs of slowing down in his age-38 season, averaging 28.9 points. He keeps teasing that he is thinking about retirement, but if he continues this output, there is no reason to do it.
He has shown interest in playing until his son Bronny comes into the league to play with him. At this point, the question has to be asked if he can stick around long enough to play with his other son, Bryce. Lebron now has 38,652 points. If he continues his pace, he will likely put the points record out of reach forever.
2. Michael Jordan
For NBA fans who aren't privy to historical statistics, they may think that Kareem or Wilt are first in scoring average. Michael Jordan is the leader in this department, beating Wilt out by .05 with 30.12 points per game. Jordan had a sweet jumper but could do more than that on the court. He attacked the rim with ease and was automatic from the mid-range. When Jordan got in the post, his fadeaway and turnaround jumper caused nightmares for opposing fanbases. Jordan was such a great scorer that he left for one and a half seasons to play professional baseball and returned without missing a step. In his fifth game since returning, Jordan scored 55 points.
Defenses clamp down in the postseason, making scoring harder for the stars. However, Jordan's scoring average increased to 33.4 points per game in 13 trips to the postseason. Jordan also won 10 scoring titles during his career.
1. Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt is well-known for filling up the stat sheet during his time in the NBA. When you look at his numbers, it's puzzling that he didn't run away with the all-time scoring average lead. Michael Jordan recorded 40-plus points 31 times, while Wilt did it 118 times. Sure, people say he was a stat padder and only cared about his numbers. I'm sure many players in the league have wanted to score points like Wilt but didn't have anywhere close to the ability. He is also the only NBA player to score 100 points in a game. In the words of a basketball historian when discussing Wilt Chamberlain in the New York Times, Wilt is “clearly the most dominating player who ever played basketball, maybe not the best, but the most dominant.”
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