List of NBA career turnovers leaders

Last updated April 16, 2024

This article provides two lists:

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

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

Turnovers leaders

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

Rank	Player	Position(s)	Team(s) played for (years)^{[lower-alpha 3]}	Total turnovers	Games played	Turnovers per game average ^{[lower-alpha 4]}
1	LeBron James ^	SF	Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–2010, 2014–2018) Miami Heat (2010–2014) Los Angeles Lakers (2018–present)	5,211	1,492	3.49
2	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)	4,587	1,162	3.95
3	Karl Malone *	PF	Utah Jazz (1985–2003) Los Angeles Lakers (2003–2004)	4,524	1,476	3.07
4	John Stockton *	PG	Utah Jazz (1984–2003)	4,244	1,504	2.82
5	Kobe Bryant *	SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2016)	4,010	1,346	2.98
6	Jason Kidd *	PG	Dallas Mavericks (1994–1996, 2008–2012) Phoenix Suns (1996–2001) New Jersey Nets (2001–2008) New York Knicks (2012–2013)	4,003	1,391	2.88
7	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)	3,919	1,072	3.66
8	Moses Malone *	C	Buffalo Braves (1976) ^{[lower-alpha 5]} Houston Rockets (1976–1977) ^{[lower-alpha 5]} Houston Rockets (1977–1982) Philadelphia 76ers (1982–1986, 1993–1994) Washington Bullets (1986–1988) Atlanta Hawks (1988–1991) Milwaukee Bucks (1991–1993) San Antonio Spurs (1994–1995)	3,804	1,247	3.05
9	Isiah Thomas *	PG	Detroit Pistons (1981–1994)	3,682	979	3.76
10	Hakeem Olajuwon *	C	Houston Rockets (1984–2001) Toronto Raptors (2001–2002)	3,667	1,238	2.96
11	Patrick Ewing *	C	New York Knicks (1985–2000) Seattle SuperSonics (2000–2001) Orlando Magic (2001–2002)	3,537	1,183	2.99
12	Paul Pierce *	SF	Boston Celtics (1998–2013) Brooklyn Nets (2013–2014) Washington Wizards (2014–2015) Los Angeles Clippers (2015–2017)	3,532	1,343	2.63
13	Magic Johnson *	PG	Los Angeles Lakers (1979–1991, 1996)	3,506	906	3.87
14	Reggie Theus	PG/SG	Chicago Bulls (1978–1984) Kansas City/Sacramento Kings (1984–1988) Atlanta Hawks (1988–1989) Orlando Magic (1989–1990) New Jersey Nets (1990–1991)	3,493	1,026	3.40
15	Steve Nash *	PG	Phoenix Suns (1996–1998, 2004–2012) Dallas Mavericks (1998–2004) Los Angeles Lakers (2012–2015)	3,478	1,217	2.86
16	Tim Duncan *	PF/C	San Antonio Spurs (1997–2016)	3,381	1,392	2.43
17	Charles Barkley *	PF	Philadelphia 76ers (1984–1992) Phoenix Suns (1992–1996) Houston Rockets (1996–2000)	3,376	1,073	3.15
18	Kevin Durant ^	SF/PF	Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder (2007–2016) Golden State Warriors (2016–2019) Brooklyn Nets (2019–2023) Phoenix Suns (2023–present)	3,364	1,061	3.17
19	Dwyane Wade *	SG	Miami Heat (2003–2016, 2018–2019) Chicago Bulls (2016–2017) Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2018)	3,326	1,054	3.16
20	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)	3,310	1,207	2.74
21	Dwight Howard ^†	C	Orlando Magic (2004–2012) Los Angeles Lakers (2012–2013, 2019–2020, 2021–2022) Houston Rockets (2013–2016) Atlanta Hawks (2016–2017) Charlotte Hornets (2017–2018) Washington Wizards (2018–2019) Philadelphia 76ers (2020–2021)	3,302	1,242	2.66
22	Allen Iverson *	SG/PG	Philadelphia 76ers (1996–2006, 2009–2010) Denver Nuggets (2006–2008) Detroit Pistons (2008–2009) Memphis Grizzlies (2009)	3,262	914	3.57
23	Scottie Pippen *	SF	Chicago Bulls (1987–1998) Houston Rockets (1999) Portland Trail Blazers (1999–2003) Chicago Bulls (2003–2004)	3,257	1,178	2.76
24	Robert Parish *	C	Golden State Warriors (1976–1977) ^{[lower-alpha 5]} Golden State Warriors (1977–1980) Boston Celtics (1980–1994) Charlotte Hornets (1994–1996) Chicago Bulls (1996–1997)	3,183	1,534	2.07
25	Kevin Garnett *	PF	Minnesota Timberwolves (1995–2007, 2015–2016) Boston Celtics (2007–2013) Brooklyn Nets (2013–2015)	3,179	1,462	2.17
26	Mark Jackson	PG	New York Knicks (1987–1992) Los Angeles Clippers (1992–1994) Indiana Pacers (1994–1996, 1997–2000) Denver Nuggets (1996–1997) Toronto Raptors (2000–2001) New York Knicks (2001–2002) Utah Jazz (2002–2003) Houston Rockets (2004)	3,155	1,296	2.43
27	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)	3,121	1,304	2.39
28	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)	3,052	1,260	2.42
29	Gary Payton *	PG	Seattle SuperSonics (1990–2003) Milwaukee Bucks (2003) Los Angeles Lakers (2003–2004) Boston Celtics (2004–2005) Miami Heat (2005–2007)	3,030	1,335	2.27
30	Stephen Curry ^	PG	Golden State Warriors (2009–present)	2,987	956	3.12
31	Clyde Drexler *	SG	Portland Trail Blazers (1983–1995) Houston Rockets (1995–1998)	2,977	1,086	2.74
32	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)	2,964	1,272	2.33
33	Michael Jordan *	SG	Chicago Bulls (1984–1993, 1995–1998) Washington Wizards (2001–2003)	2,924	1,072	2.73
34	Tony Parker *	PG	San Antonio Spurs (2001–2018) Charlotte Hornets (2018–2019)	2,865	1,254	2.28
35	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)	2,862	1,094	2.62
36	Alex English *	SF/PF	Milwaukee Bucks (1976–1977) ^{[lower-alpha 5]} Milwaukee Bucks (1977–1978) Indiana Pacers (1978–1980) Denver Nuggets (1980–1990) Dallas Mavericks (1990–1991)	2,821	1,133	2.49
37	Larry Bird *	SF/PF	Boston Celtics (1979–1992)	2,816	897	3.14
38	Bernard King *	SF	New Jersey Nets (1977–1979, 1993) Utah Jazz (1979–1980) Golden State Warriors (1980–1982) New York Knicks (1982–1987) Washington Bullets (1987–1993)	2,791	874	3.19
39	Charles Oakley	PF	Chicago Bulls (1985–1988, 2001–2002) New York Knicks (1988–1998) Toronto Raptors (1998–2001) Washington Wizards (2002–2003) Houston Rockets (2004)	2,785	1,282	2.17
40	Buck Williams	PF	New Jersey Nets (1981–1989) Portland Trail Blazers (1989–1996) New York Knicks (1996–1998)	2,784	1,307	2.13
41	Otis Thorpe	PF/C	Kansas City/Sacramento Kings (1984–1988) Houston Rockets (1988–1995) Portland Trail Blazers (1995) Detroit Pistons (1995–1997) Vancouver Grizzlies (1997–1998) Sacramento Kings (1998) Washington Wizards (1998–1999) Miami Heat (1999–2000) Charlotte Hornets (2000–2001)	2,774	1,257	2.21
42	Shawn Kemp	PF/C	Seattle SuperSonics (1989–1997) Cleveland Cavaliers (1997–2000) Portland Trail Blazers (2000–2002) Orlando Magic (2002–2003)	2,766	1,051	2.63
43	Ray Allen *	SG	Milwaukee Bucks (1996–2003) Seattle SuperSonics (2003–2007) Boston Celtics (2007–2012) Miami Heat (2012–2014)	2,709	1,300	2.08
44	Dominique Wilkins *	SF	Atlanta Hawks (1982–1994) Los Angeles Clippers (1994) Boston Celtics (1994–1995) San Antonio Spurs (1996–1997) Orlando Magic (1999)	2,669	1,074	2.49
45	Terry Porter	PG/SG	Portland Trail Blazers (1985–1995) Minnesota Timberwolves (1995–1998) Miami Heat (1999) San Antonio Spurs (1999–2002)	2,666	1,274	2.09
46	Jerry Stackhouse	SG	Philadelphia 76ers (1995–1997) Detroit Pistons (1997–2002) Washington Wizards (2002–2004) Dallas Mavericks (2004–2009) Milwaukee Bucks (2010) Miami Heat (2010) Atlanta Hawks (2011–2012) Brooklyn Nets (2012–2013)	2,641	970	2.72
47	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)	2,638	1,226	2.15
48	Kyle Lowry ^	PG	Memphis Grizzlies (2006–2009) Houston Rockets (2009–2012) Toronto Raptors (2012–2021) Miami Heat (2021–2024) Philadelphia 76ers (2024–present)	2,607	1,138	2.29
49	Jrue Holiday ^	PG	Philadelphia 76ers (2009–2013) New Orleans Pelicans (2013–2020) Milwaukee Bucks (2020–2023) Boston Celtics (2023–present)	2,596	975	2.66
50	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)	2,590	1,540	1.68

Progressive list of turnovers leaders

This is a progressive list of turnovers 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^{[lower-alpha 2]}

Team Abbreviations
ATL	Atlanta Hawks	HOU	Houston Rockets	NYK	New York Knicks	UTA	Utah Jazz
BOS	Boston Celtics	IND	Indiana Pacers	OKC	Oklahoma City Thunder	VAN	Vancouver Grizzlies
CHI	Chicago Bulls	KCK	Kansas City Kings	ORL	Orlando Magic	WAS	Washington Wizards
CLE	Cleveland Cavaliers	LAL	Los Angeles Lakers	PHI	Philadelphia 76ers	WSB	Washington Bullets
DAL	Dallas Mavericks	MIA	Miami Heat	PHO	Phoenix Suns
DEN	Denver Nuggets	MIL	Milwaukee Bucks	POR	Portland Trail Blazers
DET	Detroit Pistons	NJN	New Jersey Nets	SAS	San Antonio Spurs

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	Artis Gilmore*000 CHI	366	Artis Gilmore*000 CHI	366	Artis Gilmore*000 CHI	366	Artis Gilmore*000 CHI	366	1977–78
1978–79	George McGinnis*000 DEN	346	Kevin Porter 000 DET	697	Kevin Porter 000 DET	697			1978–79
1979–80	Micheal Ray Richardson 000 NYK	359	George McGinnis* 000 DEN 1979–80 000 IND 1980–81	939	George McGinnis* 000 DEN 1979–80 000 IND 1980–81	939			1979–80
1980–81	Moses Malone*000 HOU	308	George McGinnis* 000 DEN 1979–80 000 IND 1980–81	1,160	George McGinnis* 000 DEN 1979–80 000 IND 1980–81	1,160			1980–81
1981–82	Isiah Thomas000 DET Adrian Dantley000 UTA	299	Moses Malone* 000 HOU 1981–82 000 PHI 1982–86 000 WSB 1986–88 000 ATL 1988–91 000 MIL 1991–93 000 PHI 1993–94 000 SAS 1994–95	1,448	Moses Malone* 000 HOU 1981–82 000 PHI 1982–86 000 WSB 1986–88 000 ATL 1988–91 000 MIL 1991–93 000 PHI 1993–94 000 SAS 1994–95	1,448			1981–82
1982–83	Ray Williams 000 KCK	335		1,712		1,712			1982–83
1983–84	Jeff Ruland 000 WSB	342		1,962		1,962			1983–84
1984–85	Ralph Sampson*000 HOU	326		2,248		2,248			1984–85
1985–86	Charles Barkley*000 PHI	350		2,509		2,509			1985–86
1986–87	Ron Harper 000 CLE	345		2,711		2,711			1986–87
1987–88	Karl Malone*000 UTA	325		2,960		2,960			1987–88
1988–89	Kevin Johnson 000 PHO	322		3,205		3,205			1988–89
1989–90	Isiah Thomas*000 DET	322		3,437		3,437			1989–90
1990–91	Magic Johnson*000 LAL	314		3,574		3,574			1990–91
1991–92	John Stockton*000 UTA	286		3,724		3,724			1991–92
1992–93	Shaquille O'Neal*000 ORL	307		3,734		3,734			1992–93
1993–94	Jim Jackson 000 DAL	334		3,793		3,793			1993–94
1994–95	Glenn Robinson 000 MIL	313		3,804		3,804			1994–95
1995–96	Jason Kidd*000 DAL	328	Magic Johnson*000 LAL	3,506					1995–96
1996–97	Allen Iverson*000 PHI	337	John Stockton*000 UTA	3,201					1996–97
1997–98	Antoine Walker 000 BOS	292	John Stockton*000 UTA	3,362					1997–98
1998–99	Shareef Abdur-Rahim 000 VAN	186	Karl Malone* 000 UTA 1998–03 000 LAL 2003–04	3,473					1998–99
1999–00	Jerry Stackhouse 000 DET	311		3,704					1999–00
2000–01	Jerry Stackhouse 000 DET	326		3,948	Karl Malone* 000 UTA 2000–03 000 LAL 2003–04	3,948			2000–01
2001–02	Jason Kidd*000 NJN	286		4,211		4,211			2001–02
2002–03	Steve Francis 000 HOU	299		4,421		4,421			2002–03
2003–04	Paul Pierce*000 BOS	303		4,524		4,524			2003–04
2004–05	Allen Iverson*000 PHI	344	Gary Payton*000 BOS Rod Strickland 000 HOU	2,862					2004–05
2005–06	Gilbert Arenas 000 WAS	297	Gary Payton*000 MIA	2,964					2005–06
2006–07	Dwight Howard ^†000 ORL	317	Gary Payton*000 MIA	3,030					2006–07
2007–08	Steve Nash*000 PHO	295	Jason Kidd* 000 NJN 2007–08 000 DAL 2008–12 000 NYK 2012–13	3,277					2007–08
2008–09	Russell Westbrook^000 OKC	274		3,462					2008–09
2009–10	Steve Nash*000 PHO	295		3,657					2009–10
2010–11	Russell Westbrook^000 OKC	316		3,836					2010–11
2011–12	John Wall ^†000 WAS	255		3,927					2011–12
2012–13	James Harden^000 HOU	295		4,003					2012–13
2013–14	John Wall ^†000 WAS	295	Kobe Bryant*000 LAL	3,753					2013–14
2014–15	James Harden^000 HOU	321		3,881					2014–15
2015–16		374		4,010			James Harden^000 HOU	374	2015–16
2016–17		464	LeBron James^ 000 CLE 2016–18 000 LAL 2018–	3,619				464	2016–17
2017–18	Russell Westbrook^000 OKC	381		3,966					2017–18
2018–19	James Harden^000 HOU	387		4,163					2018–19
2019–20	James Harden^000 HOU	308		4,424					2019–20
2020–21	Russell Westbrook^000 WAS	312		4,592	LeBron James^000 LAL	4,592			2020–21
2021–22	Trae Young^000 ATL	303		4,788		4,788			2021–22
2022–23	Trae Young^000 ATL	300		4,966		4,966			2022–23
2023–24	Luka Dončić^000 DAL	282		5,211		5,211			2023–24
Season	Year-by-year leader	TOV	Active player leader	TOV	Career record	TOV	Single-season record	TOV	Season

Notes

↑ The National Basketball Association did not record turnover statistics until the 1977–78 season.
1 2 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.
↑ Average is rounded to the nearest hundredth and its calculation does not include games played in seasons before turnovers were officially recorded.
1 2 3 4 Turnovers were not yet recorded during the player's tenure with this team and season(s).

References

1 2 "NBA Progressive Leaders and Records for Turnovers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
↑ "NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Turnovers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 3, 2019.

External links

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

[elig-4] 1 2 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.

[5] 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.

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

[fn1-7] 1 2 3 4 Turnovers were not yet recorded during the player's tenure with this team and season(s).

[Prog-2] 1 2 "NBA Progressive Leaders and Records for Turnovers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 12 April 2015.

[Career-3] "NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Turnovers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 3, 2019.

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