Offensive stars are required to carry their teams on offense, and that will never change. All-Star offensive players have shown the mental and physical fortitude to get the job done and often receive accolades because of that. They say defense and even rebounding wins championships, but a strong offense led by All-Star players is a necessity to even be in the position to win games. The aim of basketball is to put the ball in the back of the net by any means. Sometimes, that means top stars take a ton of shots during a game to achieve this.
We have seen throughout NBA history that the best offensive players take a ton of shots because even the greatest shooters and scorers can’t make every shot they take. The more a player shoots, the more likely he can get buckets. Specifically, anytime a player takes more than 20 shots in a game, it is eyebrow-raising. What about those players who take at least 30 shots in a single game? That amount of volume on offense is rare to see because it requires a ton of belief in abilities and confidence from a head coach to do so. Here are the 30 NBA players with the most games with at least 30 shot attempts taken, and there could be some shocking inclusions.
30. Carmelo Anthony – 27 Games
29. Gail Goodrich – 27 Games
28. Tiny Archibald – 30 Games
27. Vince Carter – 31 Games
26. Larry Bird – 32 Games
25. LeBron James – 33 Games
24. Bernard King – 34 Games
23. Bob Love – 34 Games
22. Bob McAdoo – 38 Games
21. James Harden – 39 Games
20. George Mikan – 41 Games
19. Oscar Robertson – 43 Games
18. Russell Westbrook – 44 Games
17. John Havlicek – 44 Games
16. Jerry West – 44 Games
15. Alex English – 50 Games
14. Joe Fulks – 50 Games
13. Bob Pettit – 54 Games
12. George Gervin – 59 Games
11. Tracy McGrady – 63 Games
10. Dominique Wilkins – 68 Games
9. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 73 Games
8. Elvin Hayes – 78 Games
7. Pete Maravich – 81 Games
6. Allen Iverson – 98 Games
5. Rick Barry – 104 Games
4. Kobe Bryant – 109 Games
3. Michael Jordan – 132 Games
2. Elgin Baylor – 148 Games
1. Wilt Chamberlain – 310 Games
Clearly, one name sticks out, and it is a name that we have grown accustomed to seeing on most all-time lists, Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt is the most dominant force in NBA history when looking at size and impact because the plan during the 1960s, especially, was the force-feed the player the ball in the paint. It worked because Wilt once scored 100 points in a single game and averaged 50.4 PPG in a single season.
Considering how dominant he was, it is no surprise to see Chamberlain more than double the second place, Elgin Baylor. Baylor was an elite offensive player and has the 3rd highest career PPG average of all time. He managed 148 games with at least 30 attempts, so that is impressive when seeing how many attempts he was supposed to take as the team’s leading scorer. But the two players that stick out more than anyone else besides Wilt Chamberlain are Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Michael and Kobe are considered the two greatest scorers ever when looking at their stats, skill level, and offensive repertoire. Michael was the original, and he actually has more games than Kobe Bryant when discussing games with at least 30 shot attempts. Jordan was a 10-time scoring champion, so feeding him the ball worked tremendously well. Paired with the fact that Michael Jordan shot a career 49.7% from the field, the GOAT should have had more than 132 games with at least 30 shot attempts.
Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant is behind Jordan with 109 games with at least 30 shot attempts. Now, Bryant leads all players on the list of most missed field goals, so it is no surprise to see him come close to Michael Jordan in this ranking. The Black Mamba was the most infamous gunner the game has ever seen, and he had no problem taking any shot he felt could be made. In fact, Kobe believed he had a better chance of making shots than his teammates could, which seems quite logical when considering his elite skill. Interestingly enough, Michael has more games with 30+ shot attempts than Kobe despite the fact that Bryant played 5 more seasons than Michael Jordan did.
Other elite scorers such as Allen Iverson, Dominique Wilkins, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar all rank in the top 10. Iverson was an offensive superstar who won 4 scoring titles, so no surprise to see him on this list when he carried the Philadelphia 76ers year after year in his prime. Dominique was one of the best scorers of his generation and could be the most underrated. Obviously, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, had many games when the skyhook was needed more than often.
Another interesting inclusion is Tracy McGrady, a player who only had 8 seasons of averaging at least 20 PPG but certainly got his shots up. Had T-Mac remained healthy for the bulk of his career, he would have probably had more scoring accolades to be proud of beyond 2 scoring titles. It is also intriguing to see a couple of point guards make the list, including Russell Westbrook, Oscar Robertson, Nate Archibald, and Jerry West (hybrid guard). Point guards have been known to be primary playmakers, but there have been some elite scorers at the helm of the offense.
Isolation-heavy stars such as James Harden and Carmelo Anthony are also on the list, although it is interesting to note that LeBron James has more games with at least 30 shot attempts than Carmelo has. Without knowing, one could assume that Anthony was a bigger gunner than LeBron James, who is more of a pass-first player. But in fact, The King had 6 more games with at least 30 shot attempts than the former Nuggets and Knicks star.
Overall, taking at least 30 shot attempts in a single game is no easy feat, but some players were required to do it more than others. Wilt ranks first all-time by quite a margin, followed by Elgin Baylor, and there are some surprises, including seeing Jordan ahead of Kobe and LeBron James ahead of Carmelo Anthony.
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