The NBA’s All-Time Leaders In Major Stat Categories (Regular Season And Playoffs Combined)

Usually, when we have a discussion about a player’s cumulative stats in their career, the conversation gets broken down into what each player was able to accomplish in the regular season or in the playoffs alone. Rarely is the combination of the two ever discussed until today. Below, we have come up with the all-time leaders in major stat categories between the regular season and playoffs combined, ready to crown the real kings of scoring, rebounding, passing, and much more. 

These all-time leaders in major statistics are some of the greatest players in NBA history who went on to lead their teams to NBA championships while also becoming some of the most accomplished individuals the league has ever seen. As we put their numbers in perspective using the totality of their careers, it will be easy to recognize why they are held in such high regard when the story and the history of the game are discussed.

These are the NBA players who are the all-time leaders in major stat categories in the regular season and playoffs combined.

NBA All-Time Leaders In Points (Regular Season And Playoffs)

1. LeBron James – 46,675 Points

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 44,149 Points

3. Karl Malone – 41,689 Points

4. Kobe Bryant – 39,283 Points

5. Michael Jordan – 38,279 Points

In the history of the NBA, there have only been three players to reach the 40,000-point mark between the regular season and playoffs combined. Obviously, LeBron James ranks first in this category as the NBA’s all-time leader with 38,652 points in the regular season and 8,023 points in his playoff career. James led the 2010s in scoring and has recorded 10 different 2,000-point seasons in his 20 regular seasons in the NBA with nine different playoff runs of 500 points or better.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone are the two other players to reach 40,000 points combined between the regular season and the playoffs. Kareem reached this mark with nine 2,000-point seasons in 20 years played in the NBA with the Bucks and Lakers. He also added two playoff runs with at least 500 points. Malone would have 12 2,000-point seasons in his 19-year career, all as a member of the Utah Jazz from 1986-2003.

Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan may bring up the rear when it comes to points but they are this list’s leaders when it comes to championships. Even with two years off in his prime and another retirement in 1998, Michael Jordan reached 38,279 in his career between the regular season and playoffs. He would also lead the Chicago Bulls to six championships in six tries during the 1990s. Bryant outscored Jordan by 1,004 points with five NBA championships and two Finals MVP awards to his name.

NBA All-Time Leaders In Rebounds (Regular Season And Playoffs)

1. Wilt Chamberlain – 27,837 Rebounds

2. Bill Russell – 25,724 Rebounds

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 19,921 Rebounds

4. Tim Duncan – 17,950 Rebounds

5. Elvin Hayes – 17,523 Rebounds

When it comes to the regular season and playoffs combined, there were no two better rebounders in NBA history than Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Chamberlain holds the all-time lead over Russell by 2,113 career rebounds but Russell holds the head-to-head record and NBA championship record over Chamberlain 11-2. Chamberlain and Russell are the only two players with 25,000 or more career rebounds between the regular season and playoffs.

Chamberlain was able to record 13 seasons with at least 1,000 rebounds in his 14-year career while Russell recorded 12 such seasons in 13 years. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only other player on this list to reach at least 19,000 career rebounds. He had eight 1,000-rebound seasons in his career during the regular season as well. Tim Duncan and Elvin Hayes take up the fourth and fifth spots with Duncan coming in 427 rebounds ahead of Hayes.

NBA All-Time Leaders In Assists (Regular Season And Playoffs)

1. John Stockton – 17,645 Assists

2. Jason Kidd – 13,354 Assists

3. Chris Paul – 12,734 Assists

4. Magic Johnson – 12,487 Assists

5. LeBron James – 12,443 Assists

The NBA’s all-time record for assists in the regular season and playoffs combined remains one of the most unbreakable records in NBA history. It is held by John Stockton who is the all-time leader in assists in the regular season with an incredible 15,806 assists by over 3,800 total assists over Jason Kidd. Both Kidd and Chris Paul hold their second and third-place spots when it comes to the regular season and playoffs comfortably.

Magic Johnson is the NBA player who takes the biggest leap from the all-time regular season list where he sits seventh compared to a fourth-place finish when he added his playoff assists. Johnson recorded 2,346 in the NBA playoffs in his career which is the most in NBA history, just ahead of LeBron James who has 2,043. LeBron James is set to pass Magic Johnson heading into his 21st season, needing just 45 assists to take over fourth on this list.

NBA All-Time Leaders In Steals (Regular Season And Playoffs)

1. John Stockton – 3,603 Steals

2. Jason Kidd – 2,986 Steals

3. Michael Jordan – 2,890 Steals

4. Chris Paul – 2,831 Steals

5. Scottie Pippen – 2,702 Steals

John Stockton and Jason Kidd are the top two in NBA regular season history in steals with over 3,200 for Stockton and 2,684 for Kidd. Given their extensive playoff success and two-way abilities, they keep their crowns when combining playoff stats as well. Stockton ranks fifth in NBA playoff history with 338 steals while Kidd ranks seventh with 302.

Michael Jordan comes in third when combining regular season and playoff steals with 2,890. Jordan is one of the greatest defensive guards ever with a 1988 Defensive Player of the Year award and nine All-Defensive First Team selections. Jordan ranks third in NBA playoff history with 376 steals while ranking fourth in regular season history with 2,514.

Chris Paul and Scottie Pippen take home the fourth and fifth spots for their long careers filled with elite defensive play. Paul is one of the best two-way point guards in NBA history who ranks third in NBA regular season history with 2,544 steals and 11th in playoff history with 287. As for Pippen, he ranks second to only LeBron James in NBA playoff steals with 395 while placing seventh in regular season history. Despite being the NBA’s all-time leader in playoff steals, LeBron James does not make the top five for the combined list.

NBA All-Time Leader In Blocks (Regular Season And Playoffs)

1. Hakeem Olajuwon – 4,302 Blocks

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 3,665 Blocks

3. Tim Duncan – 3,588 Blocks

4. Dikembe Mutombo – 3,540 Blocks

5. Mark Eaton – 3,274 Blocks

Hakeem Olajuwon is the NBA’s all-time leader in blocks during the regular season with 3,830 blocks over the course of his career. In the NBA playoffs, Olajuwon ranks third all-time with 472 blocks. With these numbers combined, not only is he the NBA’s leader in blocks between the regular season and playoffs, but he is the only player to accumulate 4,000 blocks total in NBA history.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan take home second and third place in this category. Kareem ranks third in regular season history and second in playoff history for a total of 3,665 blocks. Tim Duncan is the all-time leader in blocks in the playoffs as the only player with over 500 career playoff blocks at 572. His dominant postseason play propels him to third on this list, 48 blocks ahead of fourth place.

That fourth spot is held by four-time Defensive Player of the Year Dikembe Mutombo. Over the course of 18 years, Mutombo accumulated the second-most blocks in regular season history but due to being unable to sustain long playoff runs, he ranks 11th in postseason history in blocks. Mark Eaton is perhaps one of the most underrated interior defenders in NBA history. Eaton’s standing is hurt here by his 23rd-place ranking in playoff history with 210 blocks while ranking fourth in the regular season with 3,064.

NBA All-Time Leaders In Three-Pointers Made (Regular Season And Playoffs)

1. Stephen Curry – 4,008 Three-Pointers Made

2. Ray Allen – 3,358 Three-Pointers Made

3. James Harden – 3,154 Three-Pointers Made

4. Reggie Miller – 2,880 Three-Pointers Made

5. LeBron James – 2,721 Three-Pointers Made

The list for the most three-pointers made in the regular season and playoffs combined looks awfully similar to the regular season list with one major inclusion. Of course, at the top, are the two greatest shooters in NBA history, Stephen Curry and Ray Allen. Curry and Allen are forever tied together thanks to Curry’s relentless pursuit and shattering of Allen’s three-point record. Both of these stars delivered over the course of their entire careers in both the regular season and playoffs and are clearly the two best in NBA history.

James Harden and Reggie Miller are also third and fourth in NBA history for the regular season and remain at that position on the list for the most combined. Harden’s torrid scoring during the late 2010s helped him reach this height while Miller’s heartbreaking threes still loom large in NBA history. The man who is fifth on this list is a big surprise.

That player is LeBron James who has spent more than half his life on an NBA basketball court. In his NBA playoff career, James has made 460 career three-pointers which ranks third behind only Curry and his teammate Klay Thompson. In the regular season, James ranks ninth with 2,281 career three-pointers made. Just goes to show how LeBron’s longevity and consistent dominance may never be matched.

NBA All-Time Leaders In Free Throws Made (Regular Season And Playoffs)

1. Karl Malone – 11,056 Free Throws Made

2. LeBron James – 9,906 Free Throws Made

3. Kobe Bryant – 9,698 Free Throws Made

4. Moses Malone – 9,107 Free Throws Made

5. Michael Jordan – 8,790 Free Throws Made

These next five players are the ones who made the most of their trips to the foul line no matter the situation and circumstances. Karl Malone is the only player in NBA history to eclipse 10,000 free throws made between the regular season and playoffs, adding to his all-time record in the regular season with 1,269 in the playoffs. LeBron James is the all-time leader in the playoffs with 1,819 free throws made and ranks fourth in the regular season with 8,087.

Kobe Bryant and Moses Malone are the only other two players to reach 9,000 free throws made between the regular season and playoffs. Michael Jordan would fall just shy with 8,790. Although these five players may not be among the greatest free throw shooters in NBA history percentage-wise, they certainly delivered from the line on any occasion throughout their careers.

NBA All-Time Leaders In Turnovers (Regular Season And Playoffs)

1. LeBron James – 5,981 Turnovers

2. Karl Malone – 5,074 Turnovers

3. Russell Westbrook – 4,904 Turnovers

4. John Stockton – 4,761 Turnovers

5. Kobe Bryant – 4,657 Turnovers

With this not exactly being a category any player would want to win, leading the NBA all-time in turnovers usually means the offense ran through that player for an extended period of time in their careers. This makes sense with LeBron James who has not only run offenses for 20 years but has also been to the NBA Finals 10 times, giving him ample time to continue to add to his record that stands by over 900 turnovers to Karl Malone.

Russell Westbrook is an anomaly here but that is likely due to his fast-paced, and sometimes careless, playstyle over the course of his career. Westbrook is a former MVP and has averaged a triple-double in a season on multiple occasions so when the offense runs through him, you take the good with the bad. It is pretty incredible to see a pair of teammates on here who ran an efficient offense like John Stockton and Karl Malone did but they combined for nearly 10,000 turnovers in their 20-year careers.

NBA All-Time Leaders In Games Played (Regular Season And Playoffs)

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 1,797 Games Played

2. Robert Parish – 1,795 Games Played

3. LeBron James – 1,703 Games Played

4. John Stockton – 1,686 Games Played

5. Karl Malone – 1,669 Games Played

Only three players in NBA history have played more than 1,700 games between the regular season and playoffs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sits atop these rankings with 1,797 games played while the ageless wonder Robert Parish logged just two fewer games in his career. LeBron James could be sitting up there with these two longevity legends by the end of 2023-24 if he remains healthy and has another deep playoff run with the Los Angeles Lakers.

As for Karl Malone and John Stockton, they each played just over 1,600 games in the regular season and playoffs combined. Of those 1,600-plus games, 1,584 of them came as teammates as they became one of the greatest duos in NBA history over the course of 18 seasons together. They changed the way things are done out of the pick-and-roll during the 1990s and are two of the greatest players in NBA history to never win an NBA championship.

NBA All-Time Leaders In Wins (Regular Season And Playoffs)

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 1,228 Wins

2. Tim Duncan – 1,158 Wins

3. Robert Parish – 1,121 Wins

4. LeBron James – 1,106 Wins

5. Karl Malone – 1,050 Wins

We end our countdown of the NBA’s all-time leaders in the regular season and playoffs combined with one of the more important categories there is, wins. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the only player in NBA history with over 1,200 wins between the regular season and playoffs. This makes complete sense given his six NBA championships, 10 NBA Finals appearances, and six MVP awards he won in his career.

LeBron James is likely to pass both Robert Parish and Tim Duncan to get to second on this list needing just 16 wins to pass Parish and 53 wins to pass Duncan. The only way he doesn’t get past Duncan is if the Lakers fall completely flat in the regular season and miss the playoffs in 2023-24 but I just do not see that happening. This can also be affected by James’ health if he is injured for an extended period of time which is far more likely than the Lakers having a complete collapse as a unit.