Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, but not all of his efforts have ended up being in a winning cause. James has tasted defeat plenty of times in his career, and according to HoopsHype, he has scored the most points in losses in NBA history (regular season and playoffs combined).
1. LeBron James: 17,143 points
2. Kobe Bryant: 14,491 points
3. Karl Malone: 14,355 points
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 14,059 points
5. Elvin Hayes: 13,703 points
6. Carmelo Anthony: 13,521 points
7. Wilt Chamberlain: 13,236 points
8. Kevin Durant: 13,214 points
9. Dirk Nowitzki: 12,858 points
10. Paul Pierce: 12,596 points
It’s often said that James is going to put the scoring record beyond reach, and it’s unlikely anyone is going to catch him here, either. Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant is nearly 4,000 points away, and you’d think he isn’t going to lose enough to get to the top.
It should also be pointed out that James is on top when you look at the most points scored in wins in NBA history, too. He’s at 33,330 points and is unlikely to be caught there either.
What is quite interesting when you go through those lists is where Michael Jordan ranks in them. You’d notice that Jordan isn’t in the top 10 for points scored in losses, and that’s quite surprising.
Jordan has scored 38,279 points in the regular season and playoffs combined, and that ranks fifth in NBA history. So, you’d expect to find the Chicago Bulls icon in the top 10, but he is not even in the top 15. Jordan is 16th with 12,315 points in losses.
As for points scored in wins, Jordan ranks fourth with 25,964 points. That tells you he was doing a whole lot of winning when he was at the peak of his powers.
Another all-time great who comes out looking great here is Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal’s 33,846 combined points are good enough to rank ninth all-time. He is all the way down at 35th in the losses list, though, with 10,622 points, and is sixth in wins with 23,244 points.
