NBA Scoring Leaders Of All Time

There are many familiar names among the NBA scoring leaders of all time. With years of consistency, dedication and mental toughness, these basketball players became household names with their scoring capabilities. It’s difficult to find extended success in the NBA, but these guys made scoring look easy.

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar With 38,387 career points, Abdul-Jabbar easily tops the list of the NBA scoring leaders of all time. Throughout his twenty-year career as a professional basketball player, he also won six NBA Championships and six MVP Awards.
2. Karl Malone With a 25 points-per-game average, Karl “The Mailman” Malone clocks in with 36,928 points in his nineteen-year NBA career. In addition to being one of the all-time scoring leaders, Malone was no slacker on the boards. His career average was over ten rebounds per game.
3. Michael Jordan Likely the most well-known name of the NBA scoring leaders of all time, Jordan’s image is inescapable. His notoriety is well-deserved, though. In addition to his 32,292 career points, Jordan won six NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls and was selected to the All-Star Team thirteen times.
4. Wilt Chamberlain As one of the most dynamic players in NBA history, Chamberlain was an unstoppable force during his playing days. He carved his way through opposing defenses with a grace and style that looked effortless. Chamberlain’s ability to seemingly score at will netted him 31,419 career points, including a mind-boggling 100 in a single game.
5. Shaquille O’Neal In eighteen years with the NBA, O’Neal has amassed 28,590 points during stints with Orlando, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston. As the looming big man under the boards, Shaq has also made six NBA Finals appearances and been selected as an all star eleven times.
6. Kobe Bryant Arguably the best active NBA player, Bryant’s ability to score has vexed defenders ever since he entered the league in 1996. During his career, Bryant has collected 27,519 points with the Los Angeles Lakers, earning him a healthy respect from his NBA peers.
7. Moses Malone During a journeyman NBA career that spanned eighteen seasons, Malone collected 27,409 points. Not simply a scorer, he also averaged over twelve rebounds per game. Intangible skills such as these led to eleven All-Star selections and a Hall Of Fame induction in 2001.
8. Elvin Hayes In a career spanning from 1968 to 1974, Hayes brought the power forward position into the modern era with his aggressive yet smooth style. He totaled 27,313 points during his active years, with twelve All-Star appearances and a Hall Of Fame selection in 1990.
9. Hakeem Olajuwon Playing seventeen of his eighteen years with the Houston Rockets, Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon was a bigger-than-life presence on the NBA court. Throughout a career filled with notable accomplishments like his twelve All-Star selections and three NBA Finals appearances, Olajuwon’s point total was 26,946.
10. Oscar Robertson No one embodies old-school NBA flair quite like Robertson. He was a scoring machine, pouring in 26,710 points in just fourteen seasons. His Hall Of Fame induction in 1980 was a no-brainer, thanks to his 25.7 points-per-game career average, twelve All-Star selections and ten playoff appearances.