List of NBA career playoff turnovers leaders

Last updated September 17, 2024

This article provides two lists:

A list of National Basketball Association (NBA) players by total career playoff turnovers recorded.

A progressive list of turnover leaders showing how the record has increased through the years.^[1]

Career playoff turnover leaders

This is a list of National Basketball Association players by total career playoff turnovers recorded.^[2]

Rank	Player	Position(s)	Playoff team(s) played for (years)^[3]	Total turnovers	Games played	Turnovers per game average ^[4]
1	LeBron James ^	SF	Cleveland Cavaliers (2006–2010, 2015–2018) Miami Heat (2011–2014) Los Angeles Lakers (2020–2021, 2023–2024)	1,034	287	3.60
2	Magic Johnson *	PG	Los Angeles Lakers (1980–1991, 1996)	696	190	3.66
3	Shaquille O'Neal *	C	Orlando Magic (1994–1996) Los Angeles Lakers (1997–2004) Miami Heat (2005–2007) Phoenix Suns (2008) Cleveland Cavaliers (2010) Boston Celtics (2011)	649	216	3.00
4	Kobe Bryant *	SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1997–2004, 2006–2012)	647	220	2.94
5	Tim Duncan *	PF/C	San Antonio Spurs (1998–1999, 2001–2016)	633	251	2.52
6	Scottie Pippen *	SF	Chicago Bulls (1988–1998) Houston Rockets (1999) Portland Trail Blazers (2000–2003)	602	208	2.89
7	Tony Parker *	PG	San Antonio Spurs (2002–2018)	594	226	2.63
8	Dwyane Wade *	SG	Miami Heat (2004–2007, 2009–2014, 2016, 2018) Chicago Bulls (2017)	583	177	3.29
9	James Harden ^	SG/PG	Oklahoma City Thunder (2010–2012), Houston Rockets (2013–2020) Brooklyn Nets (2021) Philadelphia 76ers (2022–2023) Los Angeles Clippers (2024)	569	166	3.43
10	Kevin Durant ^	SF/PF	Oklahoma City Thunder (2010–2014, 2016) Golden State Warriors (2017–2019) Brooklyn Nets (2021–2022) Phoenix Suns (2023–2024)	550	170	3.24
10	Karl Malone *	PF	Utah Jazz (1986–2003) Los Angeles Lakers (2004)	550	193	2.85
12	Michael Jordan *	SG	Chicago Bulls (1985–1993, 1995–1998)	546	179	3.05
13	John Stockton *	PG	Utah Jazz (1985–2003)	517	182	2.84
14	Larry Bird *	SF/PF	Boston Celtics (1980–1988, 1990–1992)	506	164	3.09
15	Stephen Curry ^	PG	Golden State Warriors (2013–2019, 2022–2023)	489	147	3.33
16	Manu Ginóbili *	SG	San Antonio Spurs (2003–2008, 2010–2018)	481	218	2.21
17	Dennis Johnson *	PG	Seattle SuperSonics (1978–1980) Phoenix Suns (1981–1983) Boston Celtics (1984–1990)	480	180	2.67
18	Paul Pierce *	SF	Boston Celtics (2002–2005, 2008–2013) Brooklyn Nets (2014) Washington Wizards (2015) Los Angeles Clippers (2016–2017)	476	170	2.80
19	Russell Westbrook ^	PG	Oklahoma City Thunder (2010–2014, 2016–2019) Houston Rockets (2020) Washington Wizards (2021) Los Angeles Clippers (2023–2024)	471	122	3.86
20	Jason Kidd *	PG	Phoenix Suns (1997–2001) New Jersey Nets (2002–2007) Dallas Mavericks (2008–2012) New York Knicks (2013)	450	158	2.85
21	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar *^[5]	C	Milwaukee Bucks (1970 –1974) ^[6] Los Angeles Lakers (1977) ^[6] Los Angeles Lakers (1978–1989)	447	169	2.64
22	Hakeem Olajuwon *^[7]	C	Houston Rockets (1985–1991, 1993–1999) Toronto Raptors (2002)	424	145	2.92
23	Draymond Green ^	PF	Golden State Warriors (2013–2019, 2022–2023)	411	157	2.62
24	Clyde Drexler *	SG	Portland Trail Blazers (1984–1994) Houston Rockets (1995–1998)	397	145	2.74
25	Julius Erving *	SF	Philadelphia 76ers (1977) ^[6] Philadelphia 76ers (1978–1987)	396	122	3.25
Rank	Player	Position(s)	Playoff team(s) played for (years)^[3]	Total turnovers	Games played	Turnovers per game average ^[4]

Progressive list of playoff turnover leaders

This is a progressive list of turnover leaders showing how the record increased through the years.^[1]

Statistics accurate as of the 2024 NBA playoffs.^[8]

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
†	Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration^[9]

Team Abbreviations
BOS	Boston Celtics	HOU	Houston Rockets	NJN	New Jersey Nets	PHO	Phoenix Suns
CHI	Chicago Bulls	IND	Indiana Pacers	NYK	New York Knicks	TOR	Toronto Raptors
CLE	Cleveland Cavaliers	LAL	Los Angeles Lakers	OKC	Oklahoma City Thunder	UTA	Utah Jazz
DET	Detroit Pistons	MIA	Miami Heat	ORL	Orlando Magic	SEA	Seattle SuperSonics
GSW	Golden State Warriors	MIN	Minnesota Timberwolves	PHI	Philadelphia 76ers	WAS	Washington Wizards

NBA Progressive Leaders and Records for Turnovers for Every Season
Season	Year-by-year leader	TOV	Active player leader	TOV	Career record	TOV	Single-season record	TOV	Season
1977–78	Marvin Webster 000 SEA	74	Marvin Webster 000 SEA	74	Marvin Webster 000 SEA	74	Marvin Webster 000 SEA	74	1977–78
1978–79	Walter Davis*000 PHO	66	John Johnson 000 SEA	117	John Johnson 000 SEA	117			1978–79
1979–80	Magic Johnson*000 LAL	65	John Johnson 000 SEA	173	John Johnson 000 SEA	173			1979–80
1980–81	Larry Bird*000 BOS	62	Julius Erving*000 PHI	184	Julius Erving*000 PHI	184			1980–81
1981–82	Julius Erving*000 PHI Andrew Toney 000 PHI	67		251		251			1981–82
1982–83	Magic Johnson*000 LAL	64		290		290			1982–83
1983–84	Larry Bird*000 BOS	87		311		311	Larry Bird*000 BOS	87	1983–84
1984–85	Magic Johnson*000 LAL	76		348		348			1984–85
1985–86	Ralph Sampson*000 HOU	71		387		387			1985–86
1986–87	Larry Bird*000 BOS	71	Magic Johnson*000 LAL	435	Magic Johnson*000 LAL	435			1986–87
1987–88	Isiah Thomas*000 DET	85		518		518			1987–88
1988–89	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	68		571		571			1988–89
1989–90	Isiah Thomas*000 DET	72		607		607			1989–90
1990–91	Magic Johnson*000 LAL	77		684		684			1990–91
1991–92	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	81	Larry Bird*000 BOS	506					1991–92
1992–93	Kevin Johnson 000 PHO	84	Michael Jordan000 CHI Isiah Thomas000 DET	369					1992–93
1993–94	Hakeem Olajuwon000 HOU Patrick Ewing000 NYK	83	Isiah Thomas*000 DET	369					1993–94
1994–95	Shaquille O'Neal*000 ORL Penny Hardaway 000 ORL	73	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	410					1994–95
1995–96	Shawn Kemp 000 SEA	80	Magic Johnson*000 LAL	696		696			1995–96
1996–97	Alonzo Mourning*000 MIA	70	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	501					1996–97
1997–98	Karl Malone*000 UTA	60	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	546					1997–98
1998–99	Latrell Sprewell 000 NYK	58	Scottie Pippen*000 CHI	536					1998–99
1999–00	Shaquille O'Neal*000 LAL	56		573					1999–00
2000–01	Allen Iverson*000 PHI	63		585					2000–01
2001–02	Jason Kidd*000 NJN	67		595					2001–02
2002–03	Jason Kidd*000 NJN	79		602					2002–03
2003–04	Kevin Garnett*000 MIN	75		602					2003–04
2004–05	Richard Hamilton 000 DET	78	Shaquille O'Neal* 000 MIA 2005–07 000 PHO 2008–09 000 CLE 2009–10 000 BOS 2010–11	517					2004–05
2005–06	Dwyane Wade*000 MIA	90		602			Dwyane Wade*000 MIA	90	2005–06
2006–07	Deron Williams 000 UTA	68		616					2006–07
2007–08	Paul Pierce*000 BOS	82		625					2007–08
2008–09	Dwight Howard†000 ORL	67		625					2008–09
2009–10	Kobe Bryant*000 LAL	79		649					2009–10
2010–11	Russell Westbrook^000 OKC	78		649					2010–11
2011–12	LeBron James^000 MIA	81	Kobe Bryant*000 LAL	647					2011–12
2012–13	Paul George^000 IND	75							2012–13
2013–14	Russell Westbrook^000 OKC	83							2013–14
2014–15	Stephen Curry^000 GSW LeBron James^000 CLE	82							2014–15
2015–16	Russell Westbrook^000 OKC	78	LeBron James^ 000 CLE 2016–18 000 LAL 2018–24	700	LeBron James^ 000 CLE 2016–18 000 LAL 2018–24	700			2015–16
2016–17	LeBron James^000 CLE	72		772		772			2016–17
2017–18	LeBron James^000 CLE	94		866		866	LeBron James^000 CLE	94	2017–18
2018–19	Draymond Green^000 GSW	83		866		866			2018–19
2019–20	LeBron James^000 LAL	84		950		950			2019–20
2020–21	Devin Booker^000 PHO	81		975		975			2020–21
2021–22	Jayson Tatum^000 BOS	100		975		975	Jayson Tatum^000 BOS	100	2021–22
2022–23	Nikola Jokić^000 DEN	70		1,015		1,015			2022–23
2023–24	Luka Dončić^000 DAL	90		1,034		1,034			2022–23
Season	Year-by-year leader	TOV	Active player leader	TOV	Career record	TOV	Single-season record	TOV	Season

References

1 2 "NBA Progressive Playoff Leaders and Records for Turnovers". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports-Reference LLC. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
↑ The National Basketball Association did not record turnover statistics until the 1977–78 season.
1 2 American Basketball Association (ABA) teams other than those admitted into the NBA in 1976 are not included; each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season. The years listed are only ones in which the player played in a playoff game.
1 2 Average is rounded to the nearest tenth and its calculation does not include games played in seasons before turnovers were officially recorded.
↑ Known as Lew Alcindor prior to May 1, 1971.
1 2 3 Turnovers were not yet recorded during the player's tenure with this team and season(s).
↑ Previously written as Akeem Olajuwon prior to official spelling change March 9, 1991.
↑ "2024 NBA Playoffs Leaders". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
↑ A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.

External links

Basketball-Reference.com enumeration of NBA career playoff leaders in turnovers

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[Prog-1] 1 2 "NBA Progressive Playoff Leaders and Records for Turnovers". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports-Reference LLC. Retrieved April 10, 2015.

[recorded-2] The National Basketball Association did not record turnover statistics until the 1977–78 season.

[ReferenceA-3] 1 2 American Basketball Association (ABA) teams other than those admitted into the NBA in 1976 are not included; each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season. The years listed are only ones in which the player played in a playoff game.

[ReferenceB-4] 1 2 Average is rounded to the nearest tenth and its calculation does not include games played in seasons before turnovers were officially recorded.

[5] Known as Lew Alcindor prior to May 1, 1971.

[norecord-6] 1 2 3 Turnovers were not yet recorded during the player's tenure with this team and season(s).

[7] Previously written as Akeem Olajuwon prior to official spelling change March 9, 1991.

[Stats_2024-8] "2024 NBA Playoffs Leaders". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 25, 2024.

[ineligible-9] A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.

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List of NBA career playoff turnovers leaders

Career playoff turnover leaders

Contents

Progressive list of playoff turnover leaders

See also

References

External links