Olympic basketball has seen dozens of international basketball legends represent their countries throughout several Summer Olympic Games. When it comes to scoring and Olympic success, there are names you would expect to hear: The Dream Team, Michael Jordan, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginóbili, Kevin Durant, Drazen Petrovic, and Kobe Bryant, but there are some names you probably don’t recognize unless you are a hoop head from Brazil, Australia, or the former Soviet Union.

Only a few of these well-known names are actually on the list of Olympic Basketball’s all-time leading scorers.

Players With Most Points in Olympic History (Men’s)

No talk about scoring records on the international level is complete without the name Oscar Schmidt.

The legendary Brazilian scorer holds the title of the all-time leading scorer in Olympic basketball history with an astounding 1,093 points — over 300 more points than the player in second place. Nicknamed “Mão Santa” (Holy Hand), Schmidt showcased his exceptional scoring prowess across five Olympic Games from 1980 to 1996. His 55 points against Spain in the ’88 Olympics stands as the most points ever scored in one Olympic match. Schmidt’s insane averages has set several scoring benchmarks for future Olympic players.

Following Schmidt is Australia’s basketball legend: Andrew Gaze. “Gazey” accumulated 789 points during his five Olympic appearances from 1984 to 2000, earning his place as a national hero and consistently delivering high-level scoring for the Boomers.  Okay we’ll pause here, let’s look at the leading scorers in Olympic basketball history as far as total points:

You don’t only have to be a great scorer to make it on this list, but you actually have to participate in the Olympic Games to even get a chance at a shot. We have to remember that not every country makes it to the Olympics so basketball legends like Yao Ming of China,  Marcelinho Huertas of Brazil, Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, Hamed Haddadi of Iran, Dino Meneghin of Italy, Fadi El Khatib of Lebanon, and Spain’s Juan Antonio “Epi” San Epifanio never even got a chance to crack the list because the Olympic basketball bracket only allows for 12 teams. And their countries didn’t qualify for enough Olympics for them to make more lasting marks on the international stage.

Back to our list: Spain’s Pau Gasol, a towering figure in international and NBA basketball, has been instrumental in his country’s Olympic success during Spain’s Golden Era of Basketball in the 2010’s, amassing 623 points over multiple Games from 2004 to 2021.

Argentina’s Luis Scola is in fourth place all-time having scored 591 points. The low post maestro that spent 10 seasons in the NBA teamed up with Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni and Pepe Sanchez in Argentina’s basketball Gold Medal in 2004.

Speaking of Manu, NBA fans are well-aware of Ginóbili’s exploits with the San Antonio Spurs. Manu rounds out the top five with 523 points. He was obvious pivotal in Argentina’s gold medal win in 2004, but they would not have even gotten that far had Manu not hit this amazing buzzer beater.

Other notable basketball Olympians include the late Dražen Petrović, who accumulate 461 points in dazzling fashion with his shooting and flair. Petrovic represented Yugoslavia until Croatia became an independent country.

Four-time Olympian Sergei Belov of the Soviet Union is revered as one of the greatest international players, amassed 586 points during his Olympic career. He played a crucial role in the Soviet Union’s very controversial gold medal victory in the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Including the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kevin Durant has brought his all-world scoring skillset to four Olympics and has made a significant impact in a relatively short period. KD has scored 435 points over four Olympic Games in 2012, 2016, 2021 and 2024 representing the Red, White and Blue. Durant is far and away the all-time leading scorer for Team USA’s Men’s Basketball Team with almost 100 more points than second place player Carmelo Anthony.

Schmidt and Gaze, Ginobili and Arvydas Sabonis, Gasol and Durant, all these players have also left their marks on Olympic basketball record books in their country.