The 19 Greatest NBA Scorers of All Time

Career totals on one side, points-per-game on the other, and half a century of scoring styles in between. Which one do you call the greatest?

1

LeBron James

The NBA's all-time leading scorer, past 43,000 regular-season points across 23 seasons.

1000pts

2

Oscar Robertson

Averaged a triple-double for a full season while scoring more than 30 a night.

952pts

3

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Held the all-time scoring record for 39 years on the back of an unblockable skyhook.

857pts

4

Dominique Wilkins

The Human Highlight Film, who out-scored almost everyone and out-dunked all of them.

835pts

5

Allen Iverson

Six feet tall, four scoring titles, and no interest in avoiding contact.

734pts

6

Luka Doncic

Scored 73 in a single game before turning 25 and led the league in scoring at 25.

659pts

7

James Harden

Three straight scoring titles built on a step-back the rulebook never fully solved.

659pts

8

Jerry West

The logo himself, averaging over 27 points a game across 14 seasons.

467pts

9

Kevin Durant

A seven-foot forward with four scoring titles and the smoothest jumper of his era.

467pts

10

Dirk Nowitzki

The one-legged fadeaway that made him the highest-scoring European in league history.

467pts

11

Stephen Curry

Rewrote what a shot chart looks like as the NBA's all-time three-point leader.

467pts

12

Hakeem Olajuwon

The Dream Shake made him the most skilled scoring centre of the 1990s.

467pts

13

Elgin Baylor

Invented hang time and once put 61 points on the Celtics in an NBA Finals game.

343pts

14

Moses Malone

Turned offensive rebounds into 27,000 career points across the ABA and NBA.

343pts

15

Michael Jordan

Ten scoring titles and the highest career average in league history at 30.1 points per game.

343pts

16

Wilt Chamberlain

Scored 100 points in a single game and averaged 50.4 per game across the 1961-62 season.

343pts

17

Karl Malone

The Utah power forward who scored more than 36,000 points without missing seasons.

190pts

18

Kobe Bryant

Dropped 81 points in one night and 60 in his farewell game for the Lakers.

190pts

19

Carmelo Anthony

A pure shot-maker who scored nearly 30,000 points from every angle on the floor.

190pts