Basketball is a team sport but throughout the game's history, relentless one on one scorers have stolen the limelight and set the pace of the game. Being a great scorer can mean two things, the first being who has scored the most points in his career and second, averaging the most points in a game. Here are 5 of the best scorers in the NBA in terms of points scored in a career and per game average.
1.) Michael Jordan. "His Airness" has won 10 NBA scoring titles in 1986-93 and 1995-98 and has led the NBA in most points in a single season 11 times. Jordan averaged 30.1 points a game in his career in a total of 1072 games in 15 seasons. He has scored at least 10 points in 1109 out of 1110 games with the Chicago Bulls and scored more than 40 points 255 times in his career. Jordan has amassed a total of 32,292 points in his career and is ranked third overall in the NBA all-time scoring list (behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone). Jordan has set numerous scoring records in the NBA Finals. He holds the highest scoring average in a finals series averaging 41.0 points in 1993 against the Phoenix Suns. In the same year and series, he set the record for most points scored in a 6 game series with 246 and never failed to score less than 30 points in each game, and most field goals in a 6 game series with 101.
2.) Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt "the Stilt" Chamberlain has set a new standard and redefined the definition of a big man when he entered the NBA. Standing 7'1, Chamberlain has virtually became the barometer and transition of dominance in the NBA. As a rookie, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points a game on what would be a start of dominating the basketball world. Chamberlain played for 14 seasons and averaged 30.1 points a game in his entire career. He has set numerous standing records in the NBA. He is the only person to score 100 points in a single game and has set a single season NBA scoring record be averaging 50.4 points a game in 1961-62 season. He also holds the most games in a single season with at least 50 points in each game with 45 in 1961-62 season and had 30 in the 1962-63 season. No other player has made at least 10. Chamberlain also holds the record for consecutive seasons leading the NBA in scoring with 7 (tied with Michael Jordan), most 60 point games in his career with 32, and most 50 point games with 118. Chamberlain is 4th overall in NBA's all-time scoring list with 31,419 career points and is tied with Michael Jordan for the highest scoring average with 30.1 points a game.
3.) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Played in the NBA from 1969-89, Kareeam Abdul-Jabbar holds the most points scored in an NBA career with 38,387. Abdul-Jabbar might not be as high scoring and relentless as Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain but it's his accuracy that stands out (along with Chamberlain). Abdul-Jabbar hit 55.9% of his shots putting him 8th overall in NBA's most accurate shooters and has made 15,837 field goals in 28,307 attempts, both are standing records. He holds a career average of 24.6 points a game and has won 6 NBA scoring titles.
4.) Karl Malone. Living up to his "Mailman" moniker, Karl Malone ranks 2nd overall in the NBA all-time scoring list with 36,928 career points. Malone holds a career average of 25.0 points a game and has played 18 of his 19 NBA seasons with the Utah Jazz. Malone has been consistent for most part of his career. Malone has only missed 10 out of 1454 games in his stay with the Jazz before missing 40 the next season with the Lakers, his last NBA season. Malone was the third player in NBA history to score at least 60 points in less than 40 minutes. Malone scored 61 against the Milwaukee Bucks in 1990 in only 33 minutes. Before Malone, Jerry West scored 63 in 39 minutes in 1962 and George Gervin made 63 in 1978.
5.) Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant is in his 13th NBA season, he's still 30 years old, has 23,591 career points to his credit (as of this writing), and is averaging 27.9 points a game this season. Clearly, Bryant has established himself as one of the better scorers in NBA history. Bryant is a 2-time scoring champion and has held numerous scoring records. He holds the most three point shots made in a single game with 12 (tied with Donyell Marshall), and is the youngest player to score 15,000, 18,000, 22,000 points, and 23,000 points. He previously held the record for being the youngest player to score 10,000 points at 24 years and 193 days but was surpassed by LeBron James at 23 years and 59 days. Bryant also holds the second most points scored in a game with 81.