No doubt, scoring is huge in basketball. for the most part, players make it into the NBA based on their advanced abilities and skill set to put the ball in the basket. For the special players that can really fill it up in NBA become leaders of their teams, all-stars, superstars and if you do it consistently over time, be inducted into the Hall-Of-Fame.
Not to know the likes of Dominique Wilkins, Carmelo Anthony, Alex English, and Adrian Dantley, but what separates them from being one of the true legendary greats of the game was their inability to use those skills to advance deep into the playoffs. In particular, the NBA Finals and winning a championship as the primary scorer. It’s no coincidence that the top ten players of all-time have multiple championships and with that, they litter the list of the all-time leading scorers in NBA Finals history.
We’re talking the likes of Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. All of them in the top ten of everyone’s list of G.O.A.T.s as well as in the top ten of scoring in NBA Finals ever. Not a coincidence.
And despite not being known for his scoring, Bill Russell is also at the top of this list for the simple fact he advanced to an insane TWELVE NBA Finals in his career. Here’s the list of the NBA players that have scored the most points in NBA Finals history.
| Rank | Player | Total Pts | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jerry West* | 1679 | |
| 2 | LeBron James | 1562 | 9 |
| 3 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* | 1317 | 10 |
| 4 | Michael Jordan* | 1176 | 8 |
| 5 | Elgin Baylor* | 1161 | |
| 6 | Bill Russell* | 1151 | 12 |
| 7 | Sam Jones* | 1143 | |
| 8 | Tom Heinsohn* | 1037 | |
| 9 | John Havlicek* | 1018 | |
| 10 | Magic Johnson* | 971 | 9 |
| 11 | Kobe Bryant | 937 | 7 |
| 12 | Shaquille O'Neal* | 865 | 6 |
| 13 | James Worthy* | 754 | 8 |
| 14 | George Mikan* | 741 | |
| 14 | Stephen Curry | 741 | 5 |
| 16 | Larry Bird* | 716 | 5 |
| 17 Bob Cousy* | 713 | 7 | |
| 18 | Bob Pettit* | 709 | |
| 19 | Tim Duncan | 708 | 6 |
| 20 | Dwyane Wade | 693 | |
| 21 | Dennis Johnson* | 676 | |
| 22 | Scottie Pippen* | 664 | 8 |
| 23 | Wilt Chamberlain* | 652 | 6 |
| 24 | Frank Ramsey* | 634 | |
| 25 | Cliff Hagan* | 576 | |
| 26 | Bill Sharman* | 574 | |
| 27 | Julius Erving* | 561 | |
| 28 | Kevin McHale* | 556 | 5 |
| 29 | Klay Thompson | 508 | 5 |
| 30 | Tony Parker | 479 | 5 |
| 31 | Robert Parish* | 477 | 5 |
| 32 | Michael Cooper | 474 | |
| 33 | Hakeem Olajuwon* | 467 | 3 |
| 34 | Tom Sanders* | 455 | |
| 34 | Kevin Durant | 455 | 4 |
| 36 | Bob Dandridge | 450 | |
| 37 | Manu Ginobili | 407 | 5 |
| 38 | Jamaal Wilkes* | 398 | |
| 39 | Jim Pollard* | 388 | |
| 40 | Vern Mikkelsen* | 385 | |
| 41 | Danny Ainge | 383 | |
| 42 | Slater Martin* | 378 | |
| 43 | Derek Fisher | 376 | |
| 44 | Clyde Drexler* | 367 | 3 |
| 45 | Rick Barry* | 363 | |
| 46 | Kawhi Leonard | 362 | 3 |
| 47 | Isiah Thomas* | 361 | 3 |
| 48 | Kyrie Irving | 360 | 3 |
| 49 | Robert Horry | 358 | |
| 50 | Gail Goodrich* | 358 | |
| 51 | Connie Simmons | 353 | |
| 52 | Ray Allen* | 347 | |
| 53 | Draymond Green | 344 | 5 |
| 54 | Chris Bosh | 337 | |
| 55 | Dick Barnett | 335 | |
| 56 | Byron Scott | 330 | |
| 57 | Elvin Hayes* | 328 | |
| 58 | Larry Siegfried | 327 | |
| 59 | Rudy LaRusso | 325 | |
| 60 | Walt Frazier* | 321 | |
| 61 | Don Nelson* | 319 | |
| 62 | Karl Malone* | 313 |
To see the full updated list, go here.
The Journey is the Reward
It doesn’t take much to move up this list once you get there, but you have to get there first.
The Golden State Warriors making their fourth consecutive NBA Finals and with that their superstars and stars Steph Curry (#28), Kevin Durant (#48), Klay Thompson (#53) and Draymond Green (#88) all making their way up the list. And on such an exclusive list, all it takes is for a player to appear in a couple NBA Finals and have one game of 20 or 25 points for them to move up 10 spots.
Not to diminish the accomplishment, the ease in which players move up counter intuitively highlights the difficulty of moving up because not a lot of players make it far enough. There’s definitely a special place in the NBA annals reserved for the superstars that score the ball when it matters the most — the NBA Finals. If you’re in the top 30 all-time, you’re a lock for the NBA Hall of Fame.
94151
