The National Basketball Association or NBA is the undisputed basketball league in the world. It has been able to garner millions of viewers since its establishment in the year 1946.
Legends such as LeBron James, Steph Curry, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant have been able to take the sport and NBA as an association to new, unimaginable heights. So let’s have a look at top 10 scorers in NBA history: –
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a professional basketball player who was born on the 16th of April in the year 1947. He played 20 seasons in the NBA for two teams. He played for the Milwaukee Bucks from the year 1969 to the year 1975 and then for Los Angeles Lakers from 1975 to 1989.
He retired in the year 1989 at the age of 42. He also became a coach for the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers later on as well. He started his basketball career in high school and continued to break records in college too. He holds a bunch of NBA records and is considered to be one of the best players and one of the best centers of all time.
Kareem scored 38,387 points in total.
2. Karl Malone
Karl Malone is a professional basketball player who was born on July 24th, 1963. He played 18 NBA seasons for two teams. He played for Utah Jazz from 1985 to 2003 and for Los Angeles Lakers from the year 2003 to the year 2004. He retired in 2004, at the age of 41, after playing his 18th and final season.
He also coached the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs from 2007 to 2011. He started his basketball career in high school and continued to play when he got into the University of Arkansas. He is considered to be one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.
Karl scored 36,928 points in total.
3. LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James Sr. is a professional basketball player who was born on December 30th in the year 1984. He has played 19 seasons until now and has played for four teams. He played for Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003 to 2010 and then from 2014 to 2018, for Miami Heat from 2010 to 2014.
He started playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the year 2018 and continues to do so. He started playing basketball in high school and went on to join the NBA in 2003. He is often compared to Michael Jordan and is considered to be one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Lebron has scored 35367 points thus far in his career.
4. Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant was a professional basketball player who was born on August 23rd in the year 1978. He played 20 seasons and was a part of the Los Angeles Lakers from the beginning.
He retired in 2016 due to decline in physical health and multiple injuries. He is considered to be one of the best players of all time. Unfortunately, he passed away on the 26th of January in the year 2020 along with his daughter in a helicopter crash.
Kobe scored 33,643 points in total.
5. Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a professional basketball player who was born on February 17th in the year 1963. He played 15 seasons in the NBA. He played for the Chicago Bulls from 1984 to 1993. He abruptly retired in 1993 to play minor league basketball but returned for the Chicago bulls and played from 1995 to 1998.
He retired for the second time in 1999 but returned for two more seasons and played for the Washington Wizards from 2001 to 2003. He finally retired in 2003 at the age of 40. He started playing in high school and continued to play in college.
He is also responsible for the popularity of Nike Air Jordan sneakers and became the first billionaire in NBA history.
Jordan scored 32,292 points in his career.
6. Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German professional basketball player who was born on June 19th in 1978. He is the only player ever to play for a single NBA franchise for 21 seasons.
He played for the Dallas Mavericks and is now an advisor for the team. He retired in 2019 at the age of 41 and is considered to be one of the greatest power forwards of all time. He initially played basketball in Germany but then was recruited by the NBA in 1998.
Dirk scored 31,560 points in his career.
7. Wilt Chamberlain
Wilton Norman Chamberlain was a professional basketball player who was born on August 21 in the year 1936. He played for multiple teams over the years.
Wilt played for Harlem Globetrotters from 1958-1959, for San Francisco warriors from 1959 to 1965, for Philadelphia 76ers from 1965 to 1968 and then for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1968 to 1973. He retired in 1973 at the age of 37. He went on to coach the San Diego Conquistadors from 1973 to 1974.
He started his basketball career in high school and continued in college too. He passed away in the year 1999 at the age of 63 due to congestive heart failure.
Wilt scored 31,419 points in his career.
8. Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O’Neal is a professional basketball player who was born on 6th March in the year 1972. He played for 19 seasons in the NBA for multiple teams.
Shaq started with Orlando Magic in the year 1992 and played for the team till 1996. He then played for Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2004, for Miami Heat from 2004 to 2008, for Phoenix Suns from 2008 to 2009, for Cleveland Cavaliers from 2009 to 2010 and then for Boston Celtics from 2010 to 2011.
He retired in 2011 at the age of 39. He started his basketball journey in college and joined the NBA later. He is considered to be one of the greatest centers of all time.
Shaq scored 28,596 points during his career.
9. Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Kyam Anthony is a professional basketball player who was born on 29th May in the year 1984. He has played for 19 seasons in the NBA for multiple teams.
Carmelo started with Denver Nuggets in the year 2003 and played for the team till 2011. He then played for New York Knicks from 2011 to 2017, for Oklahoma City Thunder from 2017 to 2018, for Houston Rockets from 2018 to 2019, and for Portland Trail Blazers from 2019 to 2021. He recently started playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.
He started his basketball journey in high school and continued in college. He is considered to be one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Carmelo has scored 27,736 points so far in his career.
10. Moses Malone
Moses Eugene Malone was a professional basketball player who was born on 23rd March in the year 1955. He played for 21 seasons in the NBA for multiple teams.
Malone started with Utah Stars in the year 1974 and played for the team till 1975. He then played for Spirits of St. Louis from 1975 to 1976, for Houston Rockets from 1976 to 1982, for Philadelphia 76ers from 1982 to 1986, for Washington Bullets from 1986 to 1988, for Atlanta Hawks from 1988 to 1991, for Milwaukee Bucks from 1991 to 1993, for Philadelphia 76ers again from 1993 to 1994 and then for San Antonio Spurs from 1994 to 1995.
Malone retired in 1995 at the age of 40. He went on to become a coach for the Philadelphia 76ers from 2006 to 2009. He started his basketball journey in high school and joined the NBA later.
He is considered to be one of the greatest centers of all time and one of the most under-rated players of the game. He passed away in his sleep due to heart failure in the month of September of 2015.
Moses scored 27,409 points during his career.
