If there were an objective list of the 10 best basketball players ever, there is no doubt it would hold the most scoring players in NBA history. Those who ended their careers at the top of the all time NBA scoring list are also among the best basketball players ever. For all the talk of defense and strategy, basketball is a game of scoring which relies on players who can fill up the scoring column night in and night out. Here are the top 5 all-time scorers and some of the best players in NBA history:
We’ve seen these guys light up electronic basketball scoreboards throughout the country. Now, let’s know a little bit more about the top 5 highest scoring players in the NBA.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 38,387. The goggled Abdul-Jabbar spent 20 seasons in the NBA, using his skyhook to help the Bucks and then the Lakers to win 6 NBA Championships. He was also voted the NBA MVP six seasons and was an All Star for 19 of his 20 seasons. In 1988, his final season, he guided the Lakers back to the NBA Finals where they lost to the Detroit Pistons. Jabbar was 42 when he retired.
Karl Malone. 36, 928. The scoring end of the John Stockton assist for the Utah Jazz is arguably the best power forward and one of the best players in NBA history. Coming out of college as a lanky kid, Malone quickly buffed out his upper body to muscle his way to the basket. Later in life, he had a 10-foot shot that seemingly never missed.
Michael Jordan. 32,292. Not only one of the most scoring players, Jordan was also known for his defense and just about everything else. He exploded into the league as a scoring sensation, introduced the most successful line of sneakers in the history of the world and left the league as the best player ever. He won 6 NBA Championships and probably could have won and scored more had he not taken a baseball break in the middle of his career or if he had extended his time with the Bulls.
Wilt Chamberlain. 31,419. The center and ladies man who dominated the early NBA was one of the most scoring players and one of the best basketball players ever to play. He was the scoring machine when there were no others. He once scored 100 points in a game and had a season where he averaged 50 points per game–statistics so startling they seem almost unbelievable. At 7’1”, he was the biggest force on the basketball court during his career from 1959-1974. During that time span, he played for four NBA teams, won two NBA Championships and was named the NBA MVP of the league four times. More impressively, Chamberlain also racked up 23,924 rebounds and 4,643 assists.
Moses Malone. 27,409. Malones career spanned over 21 years from his seasons in the ABA until his retirement in 1995 from the San Antonio Spurs. He went straight from high school into the pros so he was just 40 years old when he retired. During his career, he was voted the league MVP three times and won a championship with the Philadelphia Sixers in 1983.