Let’s find out which players have the most points in NBA history. Is it LeBron James, Michael Jordan, or Karl Malone?
If you play basketball or have tried playing, you know for sure how stressful and fast-paced the game is.
To watch basketball is all fun; imagine playing on the court.
Driving the ball, dunking, making your best plays, jumping, and overall, the thrill of the game.
We love it all.
Basketball was invented in the early 1980s. You should know that basketball had only 13 rules originally and has evolved.
Scoring a two-pointer or a three-pointer in basketball requires proper coordination and good skills. Plays don’t just happen. You need to plan and execute.
Of course, skill and experience are some of the most important aspects of the game.
Quick Overview
| Player’s Name | Number of Points |
| 15) Tim Duncan | 26,496 |
| 14) Dominique Wilkins | 26,668 |
| 13) Oscar Robertson | 26,710 |
| 12) Hakeem Olajuwon | 26,946 |
| 11) Elvin Hayes | 27,313 |
| 10) Carmelo Anthony | 27,370 |
| 9) Moses Malone | 27,409 |
| 8) Shaquille O’Neal | 28,569 |
| 7) Wilt Chamberlain | 31,419 |
| 6) Dirk Nowitzki | 31,560 |
| 5) Michael Jordan | 32,292 |
| 4) Kobe Bryant | 33,643 |
| 3) LeBron James | 35,367 |
| 2) Karl Malone | 36,928 |
| 1) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 38,387 |
Most Points in the NBA History
The information and details below has been compiled from NBA & Wikipedia.
15) Tim Duncan
Points: 26,496
Rebounds: 15,091
Assists: 4,225
Timothy Theodore Duncan, also known as “The Big Fundamental,” is said to be one of the greatest power forwards.
He played from San Antonio Spurs from 1997-2016.
Then, he was an assistant coach for San Antonio Spurs from 2019-2020.
Tim has won a total of 5 NBA Championship, 3 NBA Finals MVPs, and NBA Most Valuable Player twice.
He was 15 times NBA All-Star, NBA All-Star Game MVP in 2000, 10 times All-NBA First Team, three times All-NBA Second Team, and two times All-NBA Third Team.
In addition, he was eight times NBA All-Defensive First Team and seven times NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
14) Dominique Wilkins
Points: 26,668
Rebounds: 7,167
Assists: 2,677
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is one of the greatest dunkers the NBA has seen.
His nickname is “The Human Highlight Reel.”
Wilkins was nine times NBA All-Star and All-NBA First Team in 1985.
Also, he was four times NBA Second Team and two times All-NBA Third Team.
Furthermore, he was awarded the NBA Scoring Champion in 1986 and the NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion twice in 1985 and 1990.
13) Oscar Robertson
Points: 26,710
Rebounds: 7,804
Assists: 9,887
Oscar Palmer Robertson is hands down one of the best point guards in the NBA.
Commonly known as “The Big O,” Robertson is 6ft 5 inches.
He played for Cincinnati Royals from 1960-1970 and Milwaukee Bucks from 1970-1974.
Robertson won NBA Championship in 1971 and NBA Most Valuable Player in 1964.
He was selected in 12 NBA All-Star games, winning NBA All-Star Game MVP three times.
Furthermore, he was in All-NBA First Team 9 times and All- NBA Second Team twice.
Also Read: Top 10 Point Guards in the NBA
12) Hakeem Olajuwon
Points: 26,946
Rebounds: 13,747
Blocks: 3,830
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon, commonly known as “the Dream,” played the center position in the NBA.
He started his professional career at Houston Rockets in 1984 until 2001.
After that, he played for Toronto Raptors from 2001-2002.
In his 18 year NBA career, he won 2 NBA Championships, 2 NBA Finals MVPs, and NBA Most Valuable Player in 1994.
Furthermore, he played in 12 NBA All-Stars and was six times All-NBA First Team, three times All-NBA Second Team, and three times All-NBA Third Team.
11) Elvin Hayes “The Big E.”
Points: 27,313
Rebounds: 16,279
Blocks: 1,171
Elvin Ernest Hayes scored a total of 27,313 points in his 16-year career.
He played for San Diego/Houston Rockets from 1968-1972, Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets from 1972-1981.
Furthermore, he played for Houston Rockets from 1981-1984.
Elvin was awarded NBA Championship in 1978.
He was selected in 12 NBA All-Star games, 3 All-NBA First Team, 3 All-NBA Second Team, and an NBA Scoring Championship in 1969.
10) Carmelo Anthony
Points: 27,370
Rebounds: 7,520
Assists: 3,354
Carmelo Kyam Anthony is currently playing for Los Angeles Lakers since the 2021-22 NBA season.
He started his career at Denver Nuggets, where he played from 2003-2011.
After that, he played for New York Knicks from 2011-2017, Oklahoma City Thunder from 2017-2018, Houston Rockets from 2018-2019, and Portland Trail Blazers from 2019-2021.
He has been selected in 10 NBA All-Star games, 2 All-NBA Second Team, 4 All-NBA Third Team, and NBA scoring championship in 2013.
9) Moses Malone
Points: 29,580
Rebounds: 17,834
Blocks: 1,889
Moses Eugene Malone was an efficient center player.
He played for 21 years, starting with Utah Stars from 1974 to 1975.
Then, he played for Spirits of St. Louis from 1975-1976, Buffalo Braves in 1976, Houston Rockets from 1976-1982, and Philadelphia 76ers from 1982 to 1986.
Similarly, he played for Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, and San Antonio Spurs.
He was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers from 2006-2009.
Malone won an NBA Championship in 1983 and NBA Finals MVP the same year.
He was awarded NBA Most Valuable Player thrice.
In addition, he was selected to 12 NBA All-Star games, 4 All-NBA First Team, and 4 All-NBA Second Team.
He passed away on September 13, 2015.
8) Shaquille O’Neal
Points: 28,596
Rebounds: 13,099
Blocks: 2,732
Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal, best known as Shaq, is one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
He currently hosts Inside the NBA, which is a postgame show.
Firstly, he played for Orlando Magic from 1992-1996.
Following that, he played for Los Angeles Lakers from 1996-2004, Miami Heat from 2004-2008, Phoenix Suns from 2008-2009, Cleveland Cavaliers from 2009-2010, and for Boston Celtics from 2010-2011.
He played the center position in the court.
He has won the NBA Championship 4 times, NBA Finals MVP 3 times, and NBA Most Valuable Player in 2000.
Shaq has played 15 NBA All-Star games, winning 3 NBA All-Star Game MVPs.
He has played with Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, LeBron James, and Steve Nash.
Fun Fact: Shaq has shattered about 12 boards throughout his career.
7) Wilt Chamberlain
Points: 31,419
Rebounds: 23,924
Assists: 4,643
We all know him for scoring a hundred points in a single game!
Undoubtedly, he ranks seventh in the top 15 most points.
He played for Harlem Globetrotters from 1958-1959, Philadelphia/San Fransisco Warriors from 1959-1965, Philadelphia 76ers from 1965-1968, and for Los Angeles Lakers from 1968-1973.
He is the only player averaging 30 points and 20 rebounds in his career.
Chamberlain has won the NBA Championship twice, NBA Most Valuable Player four times, and NBA Finals MVP in 1972.
In addition, he also played in 13 NBA All-Star games, winning NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1960, All-NBA First Team 7 times, All-NBA Second Team 3 times, and NBA All-Defensive First Team twice.
6) Dirk Nowitzki
Points: 31,560
Rebounds: 11,489
Assists: 3,651
Dirk Nowitzki is a retired German professional basketball player.
He played power forward and center positions.
He played for DJK Würzburg, a German sports club, from 1994 to 1998.
In 1998, he was picked in the NBA draft by Milwaukee Bucks.
Then, he played for Dallas Mavericks from 1998-2019 for 21 seasons.
He was a versatile and accurate player. Dirk was selected in 14 NBA All-Star games.
He was also in All-NBA First Team 4 times and All-NBA Second Team 5 times.
Surely, he won an NBA Championship in 2011 and NBA Finals MVP in 2011.
5) Michael Jordan
Points: 32,292
Rebounds: 6,672
Assists: 5,633
We all know Michael Jeffrey Jordan, don’t we?
Jordan played the shooting guard position.
He played for Chicago Bulls from 1984 to 1993 and from 1995 to 1998.
Further, he played for Washington Wizards from 2001 to 2003.
He won 6 NBA championships, 6 NBA Finals MVP, five times Most Valuable Player, and ten times NBA Scoring Champion.
In addition, he was selected 14 times NBA All-Star Games in which he was three times NBA All-Star and ten times All-NBA First Team.
Looking at his statistics, we can tell why he is one of the best. Really, he was an unstoppable and spectacular player.
4) Kobe Byrant “Black Mamba”
Points: 33,643
Rebounds: 7,047
Assists: 6,306
The 6 feet 6 inches tall Kobe Bean Bryant has to be one of the best players the NBA has ever seen.
He played the shooting guard position and dominated all games.
He played from 1996 to 2016 for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe won 5 NBA Championship, 2 NBA Finals MVPs, NBA Most Valuable Player, 1 NBA Scoring Champion, and the list goes on.
Furthermore, he was also in 18 NBA All-Star games where he won NBA All-Star Game MVP 4 times.
Kobe and Michael Jordan were like brothers. Bryant also mirrored many Michael Jordan moves.
Leaving a legacy behind, Kobe died in a helicopter crash in 2020.
His death left all of us in shock and disbelief.
Rest in Power.
3) LeBron James “King James”
Points: 35,367*
Rebounds: 9,751*
Assists: 9,696*
LeBron Raymone James Sr is a professional American basketball player, also commonly known as King James.
He stands 6 feet 9 inches tall.
Furthermore, a well-built structure and good ball-handling skills are what make LeBron James one of his kind.
He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003-2010.
Following that, he played for Miami Heat from 2010-2014 and again for Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014-2018.
Also, he has been playing for Los Angeles Lakers since 2018 till present.
Undoubtedly, he has won NBA Championship 4 times, NBA Finals MVP four times, and NBA Most Valuable Player 4 times.
Furthermore, he was selected in NBA All-Star 17 times and NBA All-Star Game MVP three times.
2) Karl Malone
Points: 36,928
Rebounds: 14,968
Assists: 5,238
With 36,928 points, in number two, we have Karl Anthony Malone.
He is also known as The Mailman. This is because he always delivered. Undoubtedly, we know that Karl Malone is one of the best power forwards.
With his strong and aggressive nature, he played for 18 seasons.
He played for Utah Jazz from 1985 to 2003.
Then, for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2003-2004.
He also worked as an assistant coach for Louisiana Tech.
Furthermore, this 6 feet 9-inch player has won many accolades throughout his career. Some of them are:
NBA Most Valuable Player twice, NBA All-Star Game MVP twice, NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and All-NBA Defensive First Team 3 times.
In addition to that, he was selected in NBA All-Star 14 times.
1) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Points: 38,387
Rebounds: 17,440
Assists: 5,660
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is 7 feet 2 inches former American basketball player.
He played for the Milwaukee Bucks from 1969-1975 and for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1975-1989.
Undoubtedly, he was one of the tallest and the greatest players in NBA history.
He has won NBA Championship 6 times, NBA Finals MVP two times, and NBA Most Valuable Player 6 times.
In addition to that, he won the NBA All-Star 19 times, NBA Rookie of the Year in 1970, and many more.
He also coached from 1998 to 2011.
What made him the best?
He was fierce, tall, huge, and dominated absolutely all games.
His skyhook was a move no one could predict or defend.
All in all, he was unstoppable.
Unknown Facts
- NBA adopted three-pointers from the 1979-1980 season.
- Originally, basketball was a passing game and not a dribbling game.
- James Naismith invented basketball.
- Basketball originally had 13 rules.
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