List of NBA career scoring leaders

LeBron James has scored the most career regular season points in NBA history.

This article contains two charts: The first chart is a list of the top 50 all-time scorers in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The list includes only points scored in regular season games. The second chart is a progressive list of the leading all-time NBA scorers. ^[1] LeBron James is the leading scorer in NBA history.

Scoring leaders

The following is a list of National Basketball Association players by total career regular season points scored.

Statistics accurate as of November 14, 2024.

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

Rank	Player	Pos	Team(s) played for (years) [b]	Total points	Games played	Points per game [c]	Field goals made	Three-point field goals made [d]	Free throws made
1	LeBron James ^	SF	Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–2010, 2014–2018) Miami Heat (2010–2014) Los Angeles Lakers (2018–present)	40,741	1,503	27.1	14,934	2,438	8,435
2	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar *	C	Milwaukee Bucks (1969–1975) Los Angeles Lakers (1975–1989)	38,387	1,560	24.6	15,837	1	6,712
3	Karl Malone *	PF	Utah Jazz (1985–2003) Los Angeles Lakers (2003–2004)	36,928	1,476	25.0	13,528	85	9,787
4	Kobe Bryant *	SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2016)	33,643	1,346	25.0	11,719	1,827	8,378
5	Michael Jordan *	SG	Chicago Bulls (1984–1993, 1995–1998) Washington Wizards (2001–2003)	32,292	1,072	30.1	12,192	581	7,327
6	Dirk Nowitzki *	PF	Dallas Mavericks (1998–2019)	31,560	1,522	20.7	11,169	1,982	7,240
7	Wilt Chamberlain *	C	Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (1959–1965) Philadelphia 76ers (1965–1968) Los Angeles Lakers (1968–1973)	31,419	1,045	30.1	12,681	n/a	6,057
8	Kevin Durant ^	SF/PF	Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder (2007–2016) Golden State Warriors (2016–2019) Brooklyn Nets (2019–2023) Phoenix Suns (2023–present)	29,172	1,070	27.3	10,039	2,055	7,039
9	Shaquille O'Neal *	C	Orlando Magic (1992–1996) Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004) Miami Heat (2004–2008) Phoenix Suns (2008–2009) Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010) Boston Celtics (2010–2011)	28,596	1,207	23.7	11,330	1	5,935
10	Carmelo Anthony †	SF	Denver Nuggets (2003–2011) New York Knicks (2011–2017) Oklahoma City Thunder (2017–2018) Houston Rockets (2018–2019) Portland Trail Blazers (2019–2021) Los Angeles Lakers (2021–2022)	28,289	1,260	22.5	10,119	1,731	6,320
11	Moses Malone *	C	Buffalo Braves (1976) Houston Rockets (1976–1982) Philadelphia 76ers (1982–1986, 1993–1994) Washington Bullets (1986–1988) Atlanta Hawks (1988–1991) Milwaukee Bucks (1991–1993) San Antonio Spurs (1994–1995)	27,409	1,329	20.6	9,435	8	8,531
12	Elvin Hayes *	PF/C	San Diego/Houston Rockets (1968–1972, 1981–1984) Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets (1972–1981)	27,313	1,303	21.0	10,976	5	5,356
13	Hakeem Olajuwon *	C	Houston Rockets (1984–2001) Toronto Raptors (2001–2002)	26,946	1,238	21.8	10,749	25	5,423
14	Oscar Robertson *	PG	Cincinnati Royals (1960–1970) Milwaukee Bucks (1970–1974)	26,710	1,040	25.7	9,508	n/a	7,694
15	Dominique Wilkins *	SF	Atlanta Hawks (1982–1994) Los Angeles Clippers (1994) Boston Celtics (1994–1995) San Antonio Spurs (1996–1997) Orlando Magic (1999)	26,668	1,074	24.8	9,963	711	6,031
16	Tim Duncan *	PF/C	San Antonio Spurs (1997–2016)	26,496	1,392	19.0	10,285	30	5,896
17	Paul Pierce *	SF/SG	Boston Celtics (1998–2013) Brooklyn Nets (2013–2014) Washington Wizards (2014–2015) Los Angeles Clippers (2015–2017)	26,397	1,343	19.7	8,668	2,143	6,918
18	John Havlicek *	SF/SG	Boston Celtics (1962–1978)	26,395	1,270	20.8	10,513	n/a	5,369
19	James Harden ^	SG/PG	Oklahoma City Thunder (2009–2012) Houston Rockets (2012–2021) Brooklyn Nets (2021–2022) Philadelphia 76ers (2022–2023) Los Angeles Clippers (2023–present)	26,133	1,084	24.1	7,714	2,970	7,735
20	Kevin Garnett *	PF	Minnesota Timberwolves (1995–2007, 2015–2016) Boston Celtics (2007–2013) Brooklyn Nets (2013–2015)	26,071	1,462	17.8	10,505	174	4,887
21	Vince Carter *	SG/SF	Toronto Raptors (1998–2004) New Jersey Nets (2004–2009) Orlando Magic (2009–2010) Phoenix Suns (2010–2011) Dallas Mavericks (2011–2014) Memphis Grizzlies (2014–2017) Sacramento Kings (2017–2018) Atlanta Hawks (2018–2020)	25,728	1,541	16.7	9,293	2,290	4,852
22	Alex English *	SF	Milwaukee Bucks (1976–1978) Indiana Pacers (1978–1980) Denver Nuggets (1980–1990) Dallas Mavericks (1990–1991)	25,613	1,193	21.5	10,659	18	4,277
23	Russell Westbrook ^	PG	Oklahoma City Thunder (2008–2019) Houston Rockets (2019–2020) Washington Wizards (2020–2021) Los Angeles Lakers (2021–2023) Los Angeles Clippers (2023–2024) Denver Nuggets (2024–present)	25,322	1,172	21.6	9,089	1,283	5,861
24	Reggie Miller *	SG	Indiana Pacers (1987–2005)	25,279	1,389	18.2	8,241	2,560	6,237
25	Jerry West *	PG/SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1960–1974)	25,192	932	27.0	9,016	n/a	7,160
26	Patrick Ewing *	C	New York Knicks (1985–2000) Seattle SuperSonics (2000–2001) Orlando Magic (2001–2002)	24,815	1,183	21.0	9,702	19	5,392
27	Ray Allen *	SG	Milwaukee Bucks (1996–2003) Seattle SuperSonics (2003–2007) Boston Celtics (2007–2012) Miami Heat (2012–2014)	24,505	1,300	18.9	8,567	2,973	4,398
28	Allen Iverson *	SG/PG	Philadelphia 76ers (1996–2006, 2009–2010) Denver Nuggets (2006–2008) Detroit Pistons (2008–2009) Memphis Grizzlies (2009)	24,368	914	26.7	8,467	1,059	6,375
29	Stephen Curry ^	PG	Golden State Warriors (2009–present)	23,859	964	24.8	8,148	3,779	3,784
30	DeMar DeRozan ^	SG/SF	Toronto Raptors (2009–2018) San Antonio Spurs (2018–2021) Chicago Bulls (2021–2024) Sacramento Kings (2024–present)	23,857	1,122	21.3	8,542	541	6,232
31	Charles Barkley *	PF	Philadelphia 76ers (1984–1992) Phoenix Suns (1992–1996) Houston Rockets (1996–2000)	23,757	1,073	22.1	8,435	538	6,349
32	Robert Parish *	C	Golden State Warriors (1976–1980) Boston Celtics (1980–1994) Charlotte Hornets (1994–1996) Chicago Bulls (1996–1997)	23,334	1,611	14.5	9,614	0	4,106
33	Adrian Dantley *	SF	Buffalo Braves (1976–1977) Indiana Pacers (1977) Los Angeles Lakers (1977–1979) Utah Jazz (1979–1986) Detroit Pistons (1986–1989) Dallas Mavericks (1989–1990) Milwaukee Bucks (1991)	23,177	955	24.3	8,169	7	6,832
34	Dwyane Wade *	SG	Miami Heat (2003–2016, 2018–2019) Chicago Bulls (2016–2017) Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2018)	23,165	1,054	22.0	8,454	549	5,708
35	Elgin Baylor *	SF	Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers (1958–1971)	23,149	846	27.4	8,693	n/a	5,763
36	Chris Paul ^	PG	New Orleans Hornets (2005–2011) Los Angeles Clippers (2011–2017) Houston Rockets (2017–2019) Oklahoma City Thunder (2019–2020) Phoenix Suns (2020–2023) Golden State Warriors (2023–2024) San Antonio Spurs (2024–present)	22,412	1,284	17.5	7,942	1,743	4,785
37	Clyde Drexler *	SG	Portland Trail Blazers (1983–1995) Houston Rockets (1995–1998)	22,195	1,086	20.4	8,335	827	4,698
38	Gary Payton *	PG	Seattle SuperSonics (1990–2003) Milwaukee Bucks (2003) Los Angeles Lakers (2003–2004) Boston Celtics (2004–2005) Miami Heat (2005–2007)	21,813	1,335	16.3	8,708	1,132	3,265
39	Larry Bird *	SF/PF	Boston Celtics (1979–1992)	21,791	897	24.3	8,591	649	3,960
40	Hal Greer *	SG/PG	Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers (1958–1973)	21,586	1,122	19.2	8,504	n/a	4,578
41	Damian Lillard ^	PG	Portland Trail Blazers (2012–2023) Milwaukee Bucks (2023–present)	21,411	852	25.1	6,901	2,639	4,970
42	Walt Bellamy *	C	Chicago Packers/Zephyrs/Baltimore Bullets (1961–1965) New York Knicks (1965–1968) Detroit Pistons (1968–1970) Atlanta Hawks (1970–1974) New Orleans Jazz (1974)	20,941	1,043	20.1	7,914	n/a	5,113
43	Pau Gasol *	PF/C	Memphis Grizzlies (2001–2008) Los Angeles Lakers (2008–2014) Chicago Bulls (2014–2016) San Antonio Spurs (2016–2019) Milwaukee Bucks (2019)	20,894	1,226	17.0	7,980	179	4,755
44	Bob Pettit *	PF/C	Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1954–1965)	20,880	792	26.4	7,349	n/a	6,182
45	David Robinson *	C	San Antonio Spurs (1989–2003)	20,790	987	21.1	7,365	25	6,035
46	George Gervin *	SG/SF	San Antonio Spurs (1976–1985) Chicago Bulls (1985–1986)	20,708	791	26.2	8,045	77	4,541
47	LaMarcus Aldridge †	PF/C	Portland Trail Blazers (2006–2015) San Antonio Spurs (2015–2021) Brooklyn Nets (2021–2022)	20,558	1,076	19.1	8,311	227	3,709
48	Mitch Richmond *	SG	Golden State Warriors (1988–1991) Sacramento Kings (1991–1998) Washington Wizards (1998–2001) Los Angeles Lakers (2001–2002)	20,497	976	21.0	7,305	1,326	4,561
49	Joe Johnson †	SG/SF	Boston Celtics (2001–2002, 2021–2022) Phoenix Suns (2002–2005) Atlanta Hawks (2005–2012) Brooklyn Nets (2012–2016) Miami Heat (2016) Utah Jazz (2016–2018) Houston Rockets (2018)	20,407	1,277	16.0	7,823	1,978	2,783
50	Tom Chambers	PF	San Diego Clippers (1981–1983) Seattle SuperSonics (1983–1988) Phoenix Suns (1988–1993) Utah Jazz (1993–1995) Charlotte Hornets (1997) Philadelphia 76ers (1997)	20,049	1,107	18.1	7,378	227	5,066

Progressive list of scoring leaders

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

Progression of career scoring leaders

Joe Fulks held the career scoring record from the league's inaugural season in 1946 to 1952 and was the first player to eclipse 5,000 career points.

George Mikan held the record from 1952 to 1958 and was the first player to eclipse 10,000 career points.

Ed Macauley held the record for 39 days in 1958, the shortest in NBA history.

Dolph Schayes held the record from 1958 to 1964 and was the first player to eclipse 15,000 career points.

Bob Pettit held the record from 1964 to 1966 and is the first player to eclipse 20,000 career points.

Wilt Chamberlain held the record from 1966 to 1984 and was the first player to eclipse 25,000 and 30,000 career points. He played the fewest games to reach every point milestone from 1,000 to 31,000 in NBA history.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held the record for 38 years, 10 months, and 2 days (14,187 days) from 1984 to 2023, the longest in NBA history. He is the first player to eclipse 35,000 career points.

Statistics accurate as of November 14, 2024.

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Team abbreviations

Team(s) listed is the one player was on when he established the record.

ATL	Atlanta Hawks	DET	Detroit Pistons	MIL	Milwaukee Bucks	PHW	Philadelphia Warriors
BOS	Boston Celtics	FTW	Fort Wayne Pistons	MIN	Minnesota Timberwolves	PHX	Phoenix Suns
BUF	Buffalo Braves	GSW	Golden State Warriors	MNL	Minneapolis Lakers	SAS	San Antonio Spurs
CHI	Chicago Bulls	HOU	Houston Rockets	NOJ	New Orleans Jazz	SDR	San Diego Rockets
CHS	Chicago Stags	IND	Indiana Pacers	NOP	New Orleans Pelicans	SFW	San Francisco Warriors
CLE	Cleveland Cavaliers	KCO	Kansas City-Omaha Kings	OKC	Oklahoma City Thunder	STL	St. Louis Hawks
DAL	Dallas Mavericks	LAL	Los Angeles Lakers	ORL	Orlando Magic	SYR	Syracuse Nationals
DEN	Denver Nuggets	MIA	Miami Heat	PHI	Philadelphia 76ers	UTA	Utah Jazz

Scoring leader at the end of every season

Season	Year-by-year leader	Points	Active player leader	Total points	Career record	Total points	Single-season record	Points	Season
1946–47	Joe Fulks*000 PHW	1,389	Joe Fulks*000 PHW	1,389	Joe Fulks*000 PHW	1,389	Joe Fulks*000 PHW	1,389	1946–47
1947–48	Max Zaslofsky 000 CHS	1,007		2,338		2,338			1947–48
1948–49	George Mikan*000 MNL	1,698		3,898		3,898	George Mikan*000 MNL	1,698	1948–49
1949–50		1,865		4,863		4,863		1,865	1949–50
1950–51		1,932		6,099		6,099		1,932	1950–51
1951–52	Paul Arizin*000 PHW	1,674		7,021		7,021			1951–52
1952–53	Neil Johnston*000 PHW	1,564	George Mikan*000 MNL	8,460	George Mikan*000 MNL	8,460			1952–53
1953–54		1,759		9,766		9,766			1953–54
1954–55		1,631	Max Zaslofsky 000 FTW	7,902					1954–55
1955–56	Bob Pettit*000 STL	1,849	George Mikan*000 MNL	10,156		10,156			1955–56
1956–57	Paul Arizin*000 PHW	1,817	Ed Macauley*000 STL	10,150					1956–57
1957–58	George Yardley*000 DET	2,001	Dolph Schayes*000 SYR	11,764	Dolph Schayes*000 SYR	11,764	George Yardley*000 DET	2,001	1957–58
1958–59	Bob Pettit*000 STL	2,105		13,298		13,298	Bob Pettit*000 STL	2,105	1958–59
1959–60	Wilt Chamberlain* 000 PHW 1959–62 000 SFW 1962–65 000 PHI 1965–66	2,707		14,987		14,987	Wilt Chamberlain*000 PHW	2,707	1959–60
1960–61		3,033		16,855		16,855		3,033	1960–61
1961–62		4,029		17,677		17,677		4,029	1961–62
1962–63		3,586		18,304		18,304			1962–63
1963–64		2,948	Bob Pettit*000 STL	19,756	Bob Pettit*000 STL	19,756			1963–64
1964–65		2,534		20,880		20,880			1964–65
1965–66		2,649	Wilt Chamberlain* 000 PHI 1965–68 000 LAL 1968–73	21,486	Wilt Chamberlain* 000 PHI 1965–68 000 LAL 1968–73	21,486			1965–66
1966–67	Rick Barry*000 SFW	2,775		23,442		23,442			1966–67
1967–68	Dave Bing*000 DET	2,142		25,434		25,434			1967–68
1968–69	Elvin Hayes*000 SDR	2,327		27,098		27,098			1968–69
1969–70	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*000 MIL	2,361		27,426		27,426			1969–70
1970–71		2,596		29,122		29,122			1970–71
1971–72		2,822		30,335		30,335			1971–72
1972–73	Nate Archibald*000 KCO	2,719		31,419		31,419			1972–73
1973–74	Bob McAdoo*000 BUF	2,261	Oscar Robertson*000 MIL	26,710					1973–74
1974–75		2,831	John Havlicek*000 BOS	22,389					1974–75
1975–76		2,427		23,678					1975–76
1976–77	Pete Maravich*000 NOJ	2,273		25,073					1976–77
1977–78	George Gervin*000 SAS	2,232		26,395					1977–78
1978–79		2,365	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*000 LAL	22,141					1978–79
1979–80		2,585		24,175					1979–80
1980–81	Adrian Dantley*000 UTA	2,452		26,270					1980–81
1981–82	George Gervin*000 SAS	2,551		28,088					1981–82
1982–83	Alex English*000 DEN	2,326		29,810					1982–83
1983–84	Adrian Dantley*000 UTA	2,418		31,527	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*00 LAL	31,527			1983–84
1984–85	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	2,313		33,262		33,262			1984–85
1985–86	Alex English*000 DEN	2,414		35,108		35,108			1985–86
1986–87	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	3,041		36,474		36,474			1986–87
1987–88		2,868		37,639		37,639			1987–88
1988–89		2,633		38,387		38,387			1988–89
1989–90		2,753	Moses Malone* 000 ATL 1989–91 000 MIL 1991–93 000 PHI 1993–94 000 SAS 1994–95	24,868					1989–90
1990–91		2,580		25,737					1990–91
1991–92		2,404		27,016					1991–92
1992–93		2,541		27,066					1992–93
1993–94	David Robinson*000 SAS	2,383		27,360					1993–94
1994–95	Shaquille O'Neal*000 ORL	2,315		27,409					1994–95
1995–96	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	2,491	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	24,489					1995–96
1996–97		2,431		26,920					1996–97
1997–98		2,357		29,277					1997–98
1998–99	Shaquille O'Neal*000 LAL	1,289	Karl Malone* 000 UTA 1998–2003 000 LAL 2003–04	28,946					1998–99
1999–00		2,344		31,041					1999–00
2000–01	Jerry Stackhouse 00 DET	2,380		32,919					2000–01
2001–02	Paul Pierce*000 BOS	2,144		34,707					2001–02
2002–03	Kobe Bryant*000 LAL	2,461		36,374					2002–03
2003–04	Kevin Garnett*000 MIN	1,987		36,928					2003–04
2004–05	Allen Iverson*000 PHI	2,302	Reggie Miller*000 IND	25,279					2004–05
2005–06	Kobe Bryant*000 LAL	2,832	Shaquille O'Neal* 000 MIA 2005–08 000 PHX 2008–09 000 CLE 2009–10 000 BOS 2010–11	24,764					2005–06
2006–07		2,430		25,454					2006–07
2007–08		2,323		26,286					2007–08
2008–09	Dwyane Wade*000 MIA	2,386		27,619					2008–09
2009–10	Kevin Durant^000 OKC	2,472		28,255					2009–10
2010–11		2,161		28,596					2010–11
2011–12		1,850	Kobe Bryant*000 LAL	29,484					2011–12
2012–13		2,280		31,617					2012–13
2013–14		2,593		31,700					2013–14
2014–15	James Harden^000 HOU	2,217		32,482					2014–15
2015–16		2,376		33,643					2015–16
2016–17	Russell Westbrook^000 OKC	2,558	Dirk Nowitzki*000 DAL	30,260					2016–17
2017–18	LeBron James^000 CLE	2,251		31,187					2017–18
2018–19	James Harden^000 HOU	2,818	LeBron James^000 LAL	32,543					2018–19
2019–20		2,335		34,241					2019–20
2020–21	Stephen Curry^000 GSW	2,015		35,367					2020–21
2021–22	Trae Young^000 ATL	2,155		37,062					2021–22
2022–23	Jayson Tatum^000 BOS	2,225		38,652	LeBron James^000 LAL	38,652			2022–23
2023–24	Luka Dončić^000 DAL	2,370		40,474		40,474	2023–24
2024–25	Jayson Tatum^000 BOS	392		40,741		40,741	2024–25
Season	Year-by-year leader	Points	Active player leader	Total points	Career record	Total points	Single-season record	Points	Season

See also

• Basketball portal
• Sports portal

• NBA records
• Point (basketball)
• List of NBA annual scoring leaders
• List of NBA career playoff scoring leaders
• List of NBA career 3-point scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball League (United States) scoring leaders
• List of NBA single-game scoring leaders
• List of NBA career minutes played leaders

Notes

1. 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.
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.
3. Rounded to the nearest tenth.
4. First adopted in the 1979–80 season.

References

1. "NBA Progressive Leaders and Records for Points". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.

External links

• Basketball-Reference.com enumeration of NBA career leaders in points scored
• National Basketball Association official website enumeration of NBA career leaders in points scored