List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
Rank Player Pos Team ( s ) played for ( years ) Total points Games played Points per game Field goals made Three-point field goals made Free throws made
1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar * C Milwaukee Bucks ( 1969 - 1975 ) Los Angeles Lakers ( 1975 - 1989 ) 38,387 1,560 24.6 15,837 1 6,712
2 Karl Malone * PF Utah Jazz ( 1985 - 2003 ) Los Angeles Lakers ( 2003 - 2004 ) 36,928 1,476 25 13,528 85 9,787
3 LeBron James SF Cleveland Cavaliers ( 2003 - 2010 , 2014 - 2018 ) Miami Heat ( 2010 - 2014 ) Los Angeles Lakers ( 2018 -present ) 34,087 1,258 27.1 12,424 1,860 7,379
4 Kobe Bryant β 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/C 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 0 6,057
8 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
9 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
10 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
11 Hakeem Olajuwon * C Houston Rockets ( 1984 - 2001 ) Toronto Raptors ( 2001-2002 ) 26,946 1,238 21.8 10,749 25 5,423
12 Oscar Robertson * PG Cincinnati Royals ( 1960 - 1970 ) Milwaukee Bucks ( 1970 - 1974 ) 26,710 1,040 25.7 9,508 n/a 7,694
13 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
14 Tim Duncan β PF/C San Antonio Spurs ( 1997 - 2016 ) 26,496 1,392 19.0 10,285 30 5,896
15 Paul Pierce SF/SG Boston Celtics ( 1999 - 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
16 John Havlicek * SF/SG Boston Celtics ( 1962 - 1978 ) 26,395 1,270 20.8 10,513 n/a 5,369
17 Carmelo Anthony SF Denver Nuggets ( 2003 - 2011 ) New York Knicks ( 2011 - 2017 ) Oklahoma City Thunder ( 2017-2018 ) Houston Rockets ( 2018 ) Portland Trail Blazers ( 2019 -present ) 26,314 1,114 23.6 9,426 1,434 6,028
18 Kevin Garnett β PF/C 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
19 Vince Carter SG/SF Toronto Raptors ( 1999 - 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
20 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
Scoring leaders
The following is a list of National Basketball Association players by total career regular season points scored . Statistics accurate as of March 13 , 2020 , when the NBA suspended operation due to COVID-19 pandemic . ^ Active NBA player * Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame β Hall of Fame Class of 2020 † Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration [ 2 ]
This chart provides leading statistics on National Basketball Association players' total number of career regular season points scored. Two lists are provided:
These are the current official NBA scoring leaders: