NBA All-Time Leading Points Scorers
Source:
Wikipedia
Key Findings
🏆
LeBron James leads in Career NBA Points with 40,478.
📊
Average Career NBA Points: 34,163 · median: 32,968.
↔️
Gap: LeBron James is 1.4× larger than Shaquille O'Neal.
About This Dataset
NBA All-Time Leading Points Scorers
NBA players ranked by total regular season points scored throughout their careers according to official NBA Statistics records. LeBron James became the NBA's all-time leading scorer in February 2023 when he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 38,387 points that had stood for nearly four decades — a record many considered unbreakable given the longevity and consistency it required. James continued adding to his total through the 2024–25 season, extending his lead to over 40,000 career points, a figure made more extraordinary by the fact that he achieved it while simultaneously remaining an elite defensive player, leading the league in assists in multiple seasons, and playing deep into multiple playoff runs each year without any significant decline in efficiency.
Analysis
LeBron James heads the table on 40,478, ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) in Career NBA Points. The total is spread widely: even LeBron James accounts for only 14.8% of the 8 combined. Places 3 to 8 are close together, spanning 36,928 to 28,596 Career NBA Points.
Data Insights
Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart
Methodology & source
- Data source
- Wikipedia
- Coverage
- 8 entities · 8 observations
- Measure
- Career NBA Points
- Last updated
- 6 September 2026
- Compiled by
- The ANYSTAT team, from the source above
How the figures are calculated
- Values use the measure and unit named on this page. Consult the dataset description and cited source for coverage, definitions and any unit conversions. Displayed values may be rounded for readability.
- Entities are ranked highest-first on their value.
Data Sources & References
All external sources cited in this dataset
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