List of NBA career steals leaders

Last updated April 26, 2024

This article provides two lists:

A list of National Basketball Association players by total career regular season steals.^{[lower-alpha 1]}

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

Steals leaders

This is a list of National Basketball Association players by total career regular season leaders in steals.

Rank	Player	Position(s)	Team(s) played for (years)^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Total steals	Games played^{[lower-alpha 4]}	Steals per game average ^{[lower-alpha 5]}
1	John Stockton *	PG	Utah Jazz (1984–2003)	3,265	1,504	2.17
2	Jason Kidd *	PG	Dallas Mavericks (1994–1996, 2008–2012) Phoenix Suns (1996–2001) New Jersey Nets (2001–2008) New York Knicks (2012–2013)	2,684	1,391	1.93
3	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–present)	2,614	1,272	2.06
4	Michael Jordan *	SG	Chicago Bulls (1984–1993, 1995–1998) Washington Wizards (2001–2003)	2,514	1,072	2.35
5	Gary Payton *	PG	Seattle SuperSonics (1990–2003) Milwaukee Bucks (2003) Los Angeles Lakers (2003–2004) Boston Celtics (2004–2005) Miami Heat (2005–2007)	2,445	1,335	1.83
6	Maurice Cheeks *	PG	Philadelphia 76ers (1978–1989) San Antonio Spurs (1989–1990) New York Knicks (1990–1991) Atlanta Hawks (1991–1992) New Jersey Nets (1993)	2,310	1,101	2.10
7	Scottie Pippen *	SF	Chicago Bulls (1987–1998, 2003–2004) Houston Rockets (1999) Portland Trail Blazers (1999–2003)	2,307	1,178	1.96
8	LeBron James ^	SF	Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–2010, 2014–2018) Miami Heat (2010–2014) Los Angeles Lakers (2018–present)	2,275	1,492	1.52
9	Clyde Drexler *	SG	Portland Trail Blazers (1983–1995) Houston Rockets (1995–1998)	2,207	1,086	2.03
10	Hakeem Olajuwon *	C	Houston Rockets (1984–2001) Toronto Raptors (2001–2002)	2,162	1,238	1.75
11	Alvin Robertson	SG	San Antonio Spurs (1984–1989) Milwaukee Bucks (1989–1993) Detroit Pistons (1993) Toronto Raptors (1995–1996)	2,112	779	2.71
12	Karl Malone *	PF	Utah Jazz (1985–2003) Los Angeles Lakers (2003–2004)	2,085	1,476	1.41
13	Mookie Blaylock	PG	New Jersey Nets (1989–1992) Atlanta Hawks (1992–1999) Golden State Warriors (1999–2002)	2,075	889	2.33
14	Allen Iverson *	SG/PG	Philadelphia 76ers (1996–2006, 2009–2010) Denver Nuggets (2006–2008) Detroit Pistons (2008–2009) Memphis Grizzlies (2009)	1,983	914	2.17
15	Derek Harper	PG	Dallas Mavericks (1983–1994, 1996–1997) New York Knicks (1994–1996) Orlando Magic (1997–1998) Los Angeles Lakers (1999)	1,957	1,199	1.63
16	Kobe Bryant *	SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2016)	1,944	1,346	1.44
17	Isiah Thomas *	PG	Detroit Pistons (1981–1994)	1,861	979	1.90
18	Kevin Garnett *	PF	Minnesota Timberwolves (1995–2007, 2015–2016) Boston Celtics (2007–2013) Brooklyn Nets (2013–2015)	1,859	1,462	1.27
19	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–present)	1,849	1,162	1.59
20	Andre Iguodala ^†	SF/SG	Philadelphia 76ers (2004–2012) Denver Nuggets (2012–2013) Golden State Warriors (2013–2019, 2021–2023) Miami Heat (2020–2021)	1,765	1,231	1.43
21	Shawn Marion	SF/PF	Phoenix Suns (1999–2008) Miami Heat (2008–2009) Toronto Raptors (2009) Dallas Mavericks (2009–2014) Cleveland Cavaliers (2014–2015)	1,759	1,163	1.53
22	Paul Pierce *	SF/SG	Boston Celtics (1998–2013) Brooklyn Nets (2013–2014) Washington Wizards (2014–2015) Los Angeles Clippers (2015–2017)	1,752	1,343	1.30
23	Magic Johnson *	PG/SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1979–1991, 1996)	1,724	906	1.90
24	Metta World Peace	SF	Chicago Bulls (1999–2002) Indiana Pacers (2002–2006) Sacramento Kings (2006–2008) Houston Rockets (2008–2009) Los Angeles Lakers (2009–2013, 2015–2017) New York Knicks (2013–2014)	1,721	991	1.74
25	Ron Harper	SG/PG	Cleveland Cavaliers (1986–1989) Los Angeles Clippers (1989–1994) Chicago Bulls (1994–1999) Los Angeles Lakers (1999–2001)	1,716	1,009	1.70
26	Fat Lever	PG/SG	Portland Trail Blazers (1982–1984) Denver Nuggets (1984–1990) Dallas Mavericks (1990–1994)	1,666	752	2.22
27	Charles Barkley *	PF	Philadelphia 76ers (1984–1992) Phoenix Suns (1992–1996) Houston Rockets (1996–2000)	1,648	1,073	1.54
28	Gus Williams	PG	Golden State Warriors (1975–1977) Seattle SuperSonics (1977–1984) Washington Bullets (1984–1986) Atlanta Hawks (1987)	1,638	825	1.99
29	Trevor Ariza ^†	SF	New York Knicks (2004–2006) Orlando Magic (2006–2007) Los Angeles Lakers (2007–2009, 2021–2022) Houston Rockets (2009–2010, 2014–2018) New Orleans Hornets (2010–2012) Washington Wizards (2012–2014, 2018–2019) Phoenix Suns (2018) Sacramento Kings (2019–2020) Portland Trail Blazers (2020) Miami Heat (2021)	1,628	1,118	1.46
30	Hersey Hawkins	SG	Philadelphia 76ers (1988–1993) Charlotte Hornets (1993–1995, 2000–2001) Seattle SuperSonics (1995–1999) Chicago Bulls (1999–2000)	1,622	983	1.65
31	Eddie Jones	SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1994–1999) Charlotte Hornets (1999–2000) Miami Heat (2000–2005, 2007) Memphis Grizzlies (2005–2007) Dallas Mavericks (2007–2008)	1,620	954	1.70
31	Dwyane Wade *	SG	Miami Heat (2003–2016, 2018–2019) Chicago Bulls (2016–2017) Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2018)	1,620	1,054	1.54
33	Rod Strickland	PG	New York Knicks (1988–1990) San Antonio Spurs (1990–1992) Portland Trail Blazers (1992–1996, 2001) Washington Bullets/Wizards (1996–2001) Miami Heat (2001–2002) Minnesota Timberwolves (2002–2003) Orlando Magic (2003–2004) Toronto Raptors (2004) Houston Rockets (2005)	1,616	1,094	1.48
34	Thaddeus Young ^	PF	Philadelphia 76ers (2007–2014) Minnesota Timberwolves (2014–2015) Brooklyn Nets (2015–2016) Indiana Pacers (2016–2019) Chicago Bulls (2019–2021) San Antonio Spurs (2021–2022) Toronto Raptors (2022–2024) Phoenix Suns (2024–present)	1,612	1,172	1.38
35	Mark Jackson	PG	New York Knicks (1987–1992, 2001–2002) Los Angeles Clippers (1992–1994) Indiana Pacers (1994–1996, 1997–2000) Denver Nuggets (1996–1997) Toronto Raptors (2000–2001) Utah Jazz (2002–2003) Houston Rockets (2004)	1,608	1,296	1.24
36	Jason Terry	SG/PG	Atlanta Hawks (1999–2004) Dallas Mavericks (2004–2012) Boston Celtics (2012–2013) Brooklyn Nets (2013–2014) Houston Rockets (2014–2016) Milwaukee Bucks (2016–2018)	1,603	1,410	1.14
37	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)	1,597	1,072	1.49
38	Terry Porter	PG	Portland Trail Blazers (1985–1995) Minnesota Timberwolves (1995–1998) Miami Heat (1999) San Antonio Spurs (1999–2002)	1,583	1,274	1.24
39	Doc Rivers	PG	Atlanta Hawks (1983–1991) Los Angeles Clippers (1991–1992) New York Knicks (1992–1994) San Antonio Spurs (1994–1996)	1,563	864	1.81
40	Larry Bird *	SF/PF	Boston Celtics (1979–1992)	1,556	897	1.73
41	Doug Christie	SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1993–1994) New York Knicks (1994–1996) Toronto Raptors (1996–2000) Sacramento Kings (2000–2005) Orlando Magic (2005) Dallas Mavericks (2005) Los Angeles Clippers (2007)	1,555	827	1.88
42	Andre Miller	PG	Cleveland Cavaliers (1999–2002) Los Angeles Clippers (2002–2003) Denver Nuggets (2003–2006, 2011–2014) Philadelphia 76ers (2006–2009) Portland Trail Blazers (2009–2011) Washington Wizards (2014–2015) Sacramento Kings (2015) Minnesota Timberwolves (2015–2016) San Antonio Spurs (2016)	1,546	1,304	1.19
43	Nate McMillan	PG/SG	Seattle SuperSonics (1986–1998)	1,544	796	1.94
44	Jeff Hornacek	SG	Phoenix Suns (1986–1992) Philadelphia 76ers (1992–1994) Utah Jazz (1994–2000)	1,536	1,077	1.43
45	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)	1,530	1,540	0.99
	Baron Davis	PG	Charlotte Hornets (1999–2002) New Orleans Hornets (2002–2005) Golden State Warriors (2005–2008) Los Angeles Clippers (2008–2011) Cleveland Cavaliers (2011) New York Knicks (2011–2012)		835	1.83
	Chris Mullin *	SF/SG	Golden State Warriors (1985–1997, 2000–2001) Indiana Pacers (1997–2000)		986	1.55
48	Mike Conley ^	PG	Memphis Grizzlies (2007–2019) Utah Jazz (2019–2023) Minnesota Timberwolves (2023–present)	1,524	1,101	1.40
49	Kendall Gill	SG/SF	Charlotte Hornets (1990–1993, 1995–1996) Seattle SuperSonics (1993–1995) New Jersey Nets (1996–2001) Miami Heat (2001–2002) Minnesota Timberwolves (2002–2003) Chicago Bulls (2003–2004) Milwaukee Bucks (2004–2005)	1,519	966	1.57
50	Rajon Rondo ^†	PG	Boston Celtics (2006–2014) Dallas Mavericks (2014–2015) Sacramento Kings (2015–2016) Chicago Bulls (2016–2017) New Orleans Pelicans (2017–2018) Los Angeles Lakers (2018–2020, 2021–2022) Atlanta Hawks (2020–2021) Los Angeles Clippers (2021) Cleveland Cavaliers (2022)	1,518	957	1.59

Progressive list of steals leaders

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

Statistics accurate as of the 2023–24 NBA season.

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
†	Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration^[2]

Team abbreviations
ATL	Atlanta Hawks	GSW	Golden State Warriors	MIL	Milwaukee Bucks	OKC	Oklahoma City Thunder	SDC	San Diego Clippers
BOS	Boston Celtics	IND	Indiana Pacers	MIN	Minnesota Timberwolves	PHI	Philadelphia 76ers	SEA	Seattle SuperSonics
CHH	Charlotte Hornets	LAC	Los Angeles Clippers	NJN	New Jersey Nets	PHX	Phoenix Suns	TOR	Toronto Raptors
CHI	Chicago Bulls	LAL	Los Angeles Lakers	NOH	New Orleans Hornets	POR	Portland Trail Blazers	UTA	Utah Jazz
CLE	Cleveland Cavaliers	MEM	Memphis Grizzlies	NOP	New Orleans Pelicans	SAC	Sacramento Kings	WAS	Washington Wizards
DAL	Dallas Mavericks	MIA	Miami Heat	NYK	New York Knicks	SAS	San Antonio Spurs	WSB	Washington Bullets

Steals leaders at the end of every season
Season	Year-by-year leader	Steals	Active player leader	Steals	Career record	Steals	Single-season record	Steals	Season
1973–74	Larry Steele 000 POR	217	Larry Steele 000 POR	217	Larry Steele 000 POR	217	Larry Steele 000 POR	217	1973–74
1974–75	Rick Barry*000 GSW	228	Larry Steele 000 POR	400	Larry Steele 000 POR	400	Rick Barry*000 GSW	228	1974–75
1975–76	Slick Watts 000 SEA	261	Rick Barry*000 GSW	599	Rick Barry*000 GSW	599	Slick Watts 000 SEA	261	1975–76
1976–77	Don Buse 000 IND	281	Slick Watts 000 SEA	780	Slick Watts 000 SEA	780	Don Buse 000 IND	281	1976–77
1977–78	Ron Lee 000 PHX	225	Rick Barry*000 GSW	929	Rick Barry*000 GSW	929			1977–78
1978–79	Norm Nixon 000 LAL Eddie Jordan 000 NJN	201	Rick Barry*000 GSW	1,024	Rick Barry*000 GSW	1,024			1978–79
1979–80	Micheal Ray Richardson 00 NYK	265	Randy Smith 00 CLE 1979–81 000 NYK 1981–82 000 SDC & ATL 1982–83	1,143	Randy Smith 00 CLE 1979–81 000 NYK 1981–82 000 SDC & ATL 1982–83	1,143			1979–80
1980–81		232		1,256		1,256			1980–81
1981–82		213		1,347		1,347			1981–82
1982–83	Rickey Green 000 UTA	220		1,403		1,403			1982–83
1983–84	Rickey Green 000 UTA	215	Gus Williams 000 SEA 1983–84 000 WSB 1984–86	1,347		1,403			1983–84
1984–85	Micheal Ray Richardson 00 NJN	243		1,525	Gus Williams 000 WSB	1,525			1984–85
1985–86	Alvin Robertson 000 SAS	301		1,621	Gus Williams 000 WSB	1,621	Alvin Robertson 000 SAS	301	1985–86
1986–87	Alvin Robertson 000 SAS	260	Maurice Cheeks* 00 PHI 1986–89 000 SAS 1989–90 000 NYK 1990–91 000 ATL 1991–92 000 NJN 1992–93	1,670	Maurice Cheeks* 00 PHI 1986–89 000 SAS 1989–90 000 NYK 1990–91 000 ATL 1991–92 000 NJN 1992–93	1,670			1986–87
1987–88	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	259		1,837		1,837			1987–88
1988–89	John Stockton*000 UTA	263		1,942		1,942			1988–89
1989–90	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	227		2,066		2,066			1989–90
1990–91	Alvin Robertson 000 MIL	246		2,194		2,194			1990–91
1991–92	John Stockton*000 UTA	244		2,277		2,277			1991–92
1992–93	Michael Jordan*000 CHI	221		2,310		2,310			1992–93
1993–94	Nate McMillan 000 SEA	216	John Stockton*000 UTA	2,031					1993–94
1994–95	Scottie Pippen*000 CHI	232		2,225					1994–95
1995–96	Gary Payton*000 SEA	231		2,365	John Stockton*000 UTA	2,365			1995–96
1996–97	Mookie Blaylock 000 ATL	212		2,531		2,531			1996–97
1997–98	Brevin Knight 000 CLE	196		2,620		2,620			1997–98
1998–99	Kendall Gill 000 NJN	134		2,701		2,701			1998–99
1999–00	Eddie Jones 000 CHH	192		2,844		2,844			1999–00
2000–01	Doug Christie 000 SAC	183		2,976		2,976			2000–01
2001–02	Jason Kidd*000 NJN	175		3,128		3,128			2001–02
2002–03	Allen Iverson*000 PHI	225		3,265		3,265			2002–03
2003–04	Shawn Marion 000 PHX	167	Scottie Pippen*000 CHI	2,307					2003–04
2004–05	Allen Iverson*000 PHI	180	Gary Payton* 000 BOS 2004–05 000 MIA 2005–07	2,331					2004–05
2005–06	Chris Paul^000 NOK	175		2,402					2005–06
2006–07	Shawn Marion 000 PHX	156		2,445					2006–07
2007–08	Chris Paul^000 NOH	217	Jason Kidd* 000 NJN 2007–08 000 DAL 2008–12 000 NYK 2012–13	2,038					2007–08
2008–09	Chris Paul^000 NOH	216		2,198					2008–09
2009–10	Rajon Rondo ^†000 BOS	189		2,343					2009–10
2010–11	Chris Paul^ 000 NOH 2010–11 000 LAC 2011–12	188		2,477					2010–11
2011–12	Chris Paul^ 000 NOH 2010–11 000 LAC 2011–12	152		2,559					2011–12
2012–13	Mike Conley Jr.^000 MEM	174		2,684					2012–13
2013–14	Ricky Rubio^000 MIN	191	Kobe Bryant*000 LAL	1,835					2013–14
2014–15	Stephen Curry^000 GSW	163		1,882					2014–15
2015–16	Stephen Curry^000 GSW	169		1,944					2015–16
2016–17	John Wall ^†000 WAS	157	Chris Paul^ 000 LAC 2016–17 000 HOU 2017–19 000 OKC 2019–20 000 PHX 2020–23 000 GSW 2023–	1,912					2016–17
2017–18	Victor Oladipo^000 IND	177		2,008					2017–18
2018–19	Paul George^000 OKC	170		2,122					2018–19
2019–20	James Harden^000 HOU	125		2,233					2019–20
2020–21	T. J. McConnell^000 IND	128		2,332					2020–21
2021–22	Dejounte Murray^000 SAS	138		2,453					2021–22
2022–23	OG Anunoby^000 TOR	128		2,544					2022–23
2023–24	De'Aaron Fox^000 SAC Shai Gilgeous-Alexander^000 OKC	150		2,614					2023–24
Season	Year-by-year leader	Steals	Active player leader	Steals	Career record	Steals	Single-season record	Steals	Season

Notes

↑ The National Basketball Association did not record steal statistics until the 1973–74 season.
↑ 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.
↑ 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.
↑ Games played in prior seasons where steals were not recorded are not included in total games played nor are they used in calculating the per game average.
↑ Average is rounded to the nearest hundredth and its calculation does not include games played in seasons before steals were officially recorded.

References

1 2 "NBA Progressive Leaders and Records for Steals". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
↑ 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

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[1] The National Basketball Association did not record steal statistics until the 1973–74 season.

[3] 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.

[4] 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.

[5] Games played in prior seasons where steals were not recorded are not included in total games played nor are they used in calculating the per game average.

[6] Average is rounded to the nearest hundredth and its calculation does not include games played in seasons before steals were officially recorded.

[prog-2] 1 2 "NBA Progressive Leaders and Records for Steals". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 25 March 2015.

[ineligible-7] 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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