Nba All Time Scoring Leaders

One common trait shared by the NBA all-time scoring leaders was their ability to take over a game and essentially give the opposing team a big middle finger by scoring at will on their defense. Each one of these legends was an offensive force in their prime and no doubt could still school many of the so-called pro stars in the league today. This countdown of the five best NBA scorers will take you back to a time when certain players made hogging the ball look good and feel effective:

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: The man formerly known as Lew Alcindor terrorized NBA teams for years with his patented sky hook and entertained movie audiences with his hilarious supporting role in "Airplane!" Abdul-Jabbar racked up 38,387 points in twenty seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. He won six NBA titles, was a six-time league MVP and played on nineteen all-star teams. When Abdul-Jabbar retired, no other player had scored more points, blocked more shots or logged more seasons on the court than him. 
2. Karl Malone: The Mailman could not deliver an NBA championship to the Utah Jazz, but it wasn't for a lack of effort. Malone scored 36,928 points in nineteen seasons in the league. He was an NBA MVP twice in his career and named to twelve all-star teams. Malone could throw down a hammer dunk that scared the daylights out of opponents and his elbow could just as easily knock out their lights, as David Robinson and Isaiah Thomas can attest.
3. Michael Jordan: Six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls underscore how Jordan was the most dominant player of his generation. Jordan gave a hint of how quickly he could crank out points when he averaged an astounding 37.1 points per game in his third season. He went on to average more than 30 points per game for eight more seasons and finished with an impressive tally of 32,292 in 15 seasons. Jordan could have finished much higher on this list if his Airness did not interrupt his career with hasty retirements to stink it up in minor league baseball and bungle several personnel moves in the Washington Wizards front office.
4. Wilt Chamberlain: Right around the time he was bedding 20,000 ladies, Chamberlain showed he could score just as easily around the hoop. His single game record of 100 points set in 1962 still stands. So does his single season average of 50.4 points per game in 1961-62. The Big Dipper was equally unstoppable on the boards. Chamberlain retired after fourteen seasons with career averages of 30.1 points per game and 22.9 rebounds per game. He snagged a pair of NBA titles, first with the 76ers, then the Lakers.
5. Shaquille O'Neal: Perhaps the only thing rivaling O'Neal's point and rebound totals in nineteen seasons are the number of nicknames he has given himself over the same period. In his prime, O'Neal was the league's most dominant center. Shaq has won four NBA titles with two different teams and is a fifteen time NBA all-star. He has 28,950 points for his career, just ahead of Kobe Bryant on the all-time list. You can be certain that Shaq won't retire until Bryant is safely out of the picture, even if he has to play until he is 50.