Top 10 NBA Players Who Scored The Most Points Of All Time And Where They Rank In Assists All Time

Scoring in the NBA and playmaking are two very different things. Some players are capable of doing both, which makes them an incredible players. Among those in the top 10 in points scored, a few players proved they were able to do a little bit of both. Others showed they were more of a score-first mentality.  

Regardless, all of these players are Hall of Famers or players that will be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day. There is no knock on those that found themselves near the bottom of the assists ladder. It’s more of a showcase of the players that were able to do a little bit of both. One player finds himself in both the top 10 of scoring and assists. 

These are the top-10 players in points all-time and where they rank on the assists leaderboards.

Moses Malone – 503rd In Assists, 10th In Scoring

Assists: 1,796 Assists

Points: 27,409 Points

Malone had his career high in scoring during the 1981-82 season at 31.1 points per game. It was one of 11 consecutive seasons that Malone scored at least 20.0 points per game. Malone was a dominant force in the middle when it came to scoring and rebounding. Malone was a fierce rebounder, recording double-digit rebounds in all but four seasons. He led the league in rebounding six times, which included a career-high 17.6 rebounds in 1978-79.

Recording assists were not his strong suit. He finished his career averaging 1.3 assists per game. He never averaged more than 2.0 assists per game. He had a career-high 1.8 assists per game for four straight seasons. Everyone has a stronger skill, and making the play was not Malone’s.

Shaquille O’Neal – 227th In Assists, 8th In Scoring

Assists: 3,026 Assists

Points: 28,596 Points

O’Neal was similar to Malone but was twice as good as a passer. While that might not be saying much, O’Neal finished his career averaging 2.5 assists per game. He reached at least 3.0 assists per game five times. That included a career-high 3.8 assists per game during his MVP season in 1999-00, when he also led the league in scoring at 29.7 points per game.

During the 1994-95 season, Shaq also led the league in scoring with 29.3 points per game. O’Neal was a double-double machine as he recorded double-digit rebounds in 13 consecutive seasons to open up his career. O’Neal was also a strong shot-blocker, recording at least 2.0 blocks per game in 12 of those 13 seasons.

Carmelo Anthony – 181st In Assists, 9th In Scoring

Assists: 3,422 Assists

Points: 28,289 Points

When Anthony came into the league, he amazed those around him when he played all 82 games during his rookie season and averaged 21.0 points per game. He didn’t stop there as he scored at least 20.0 points per game for 14 straight seasons. That included leading the league in scoring at 28.7 points per game with the Knicks during the 2012-13 season.

Anthony consistently averaged close to 3.0 assists per game. He was in the upper twos or he was able to be around the low threes. His career-high in assists was 4.2 during the 2015-16 season. Since then, he has struggled to find that same consistency. For his career, he owns a career average of 2.7 per game.

Dirk Nowitzki – 156th In Assists, 6th In Scoring

Assists: 3,651 Assists

Points: 31,560 Points

Nowitzki was similar to Anthony when it came to playmaking. He averaged close to the mid to upper twos. He topped 3.0 assists per game as he was normally around his career average of 2.4 assists per game. Nowitzki was praised more for his scoring, and rebounding, and is regarded as the best outside shooting forward we have ever seen.

After a lackluster rookie season, Nowitzki grew into one of the game’s best shooters. He averaged at least 20.0 points per game for 12 straight seasons. During that time, he hovered around 38% shooting from three-point range. Given that Nowitzki was in the league for so long, he was able to accumulate enough assists to push himself past Anthony by a few places on the leaderboard.

Wilt Chamberlain – 84th In Assists, 7th In Scoring

Assists: 4,643 Assists

Points: 31,419 Points

Among those in the top 10 in scoring, six of these players rank in the top 100 for career assists. Chamberlain began his career as regarded as the greatest scorer in NBA history. Chamberlain led the league in eight consecutive seasons. That included the NBA record 50.4 points per game during the 1961-62 season. Chamberlain often saw his playmaking overlooked for his strong scoring skills. He averaged 5.0 assists with 36.9 points per game during the 1963-64 season and 5.2 assists during his last year leading the league in scoring.

Chamberlain saw his game change as he got older. When the 76ers won the NBA Finals, Chamberlain focused more on his passing skills, which saw his points per game decrease by 10 per game. He averaged 7.8 assists during the 1966-67 season and then led the league in assists the following year with 8.6 per game. When he won a title with the Lakers in 1972, Chamberlain’s focus turned to rebound and playmaking. For his career, he averaged 4.4 per game.

Karl Malone – 61st In Assists, 3rd In Scoring

Assists: 5,248 Assists

Points: 36,928 Points

When you have John Stockton passing you the ball for most of your career, Malone didn’t have to focus on giving the ball. He had to make sure the ball got into the hoop, which is what he did very well. When Malone retired, he was the second-highest scorer in NBA history. Today, Malone ranks third, but his longevity in the league helped him amass over 5,000 career assists.

Malone averaged 3.6 assists per game for his career. He topped 4.0 assists per game seven times in his career. Three of those seasons came during his final seasons with the Jazz. Malone was an older player, but he still managed to average more than 20.0 points per game. Malone’s career-high 4.7 assists came during the second to last season of his career, which was his final season with the Jazz in 2002-03.

Michael Jordan – 47th In Assists, 5th In Scoring

Assists: 5,633 Assists

Points: 32,292 Points

Michael Jordan could do anything he wanted to. He never led the league in assists, but with his mindset, he probably could have if someone challenged him. Instead, he led the league in scoring 10 times, which included seven consecutive seasons. That included a career-high 37.1 points per game during the 1986-87 season. Had Jordan not retired two times, we might be talking about the all-time leading scorer in league history.

When it came to assists, Jordan averaged 8.0 assists per game during the 1988-89 season to go with 8.0 rebounds and 32.5 points per game. It was the one time that Jordan came close to averaging a triple-double. Jordan averaged 5.3 assists per game. He reached 6.0 assists or more three times and 5.0 assists or more nine times.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 45th In Assists, 1st In Scoring

Assists: 5,660 Assists

Points: 38,387 Points

The all-time leading scorer found himself in the top 50 on the all-time rankings. When he started his career, he was more likely to pass the ball than not. While averaging more than 30 points per game with the Bucks, Abdul-Jabbar averaged at least 4.0 assists per game for five straight seasons. He reached at least 4.0 nine times in his career.

He reached at least 5.0 assists per game in a season three times, including his career high of 5.4 assists per game during the 1978-79 season. For his career, he averaged 3.6 assists per game and was in the league for two decades to help accumulate a large supply. Again, scoring and rebounding were the names of the game for Kareem.

Kobe Bryant – 33rd In Assists, 4th In Scoring

Assists: 6,306 Assists

Points: 33,643 Points

While many remember how clutch Bryant was with his scoring, Bryant had a respectable mark as a playmaking guard. First, Bryant was a lethal scorer, including leading the league in scoring for two straight seasons. He averaged 35.4 and 31.6 points per game during that time. He averaged at least 20.0 points per game for 14 consecutive seasons. During that time, he was averaging at least 5.0 assists in all but four seasons.

Bryant averaged 4.7 assists per game during the regular season. Bryant saw his best years recording assists in his later years. He reached 6.0 assists during the 2012-13 season. Unfortunately, his best average of 6.3 came during the season he was injured and played six games. All in all, Bryant was a replicant of Michael Jordan in scoring but passed the ball just a little bit more.

LeBron James – 7th In Assists, 2nd In Scoring

Assists: 10,045 Assists

Points: 37,062 Points

How rare do you see a player in the top 10 in scoring and playmaking? It’s not very likely. For all of the criticism that LeBron James gets, we are going to miss him when he is not playing in the league anymore. James is going to break the all-time scoring record this season. He owns a career scoring average of 27.1 points per game and is coming off a season where he averaged 30.3 points per game. It was the first time that he averaged at least 30 points per game since he led the league in scoring with 30.0 per game during the 2007-08 season.

The Lakers’ version of James saw his passing get a boost. For the most part, James was a great passer that saw him average at least six or seven assists per game while he played with the Cavaliers and Heat. By the 2016-17 season, his passing broke new barriers, which included averaging 8.7 and 9.1 assists in his last two seasons in Cleveland. Then, he averaged 8.3 assists during his first season with the Lakers and then led the league in assists with 10.2 assists per game when the Lakers won the championship season. For his career, James owns a career average of 7.4 per game. On top of reaching the scoring record, James has a chance to overtake Magic Johnson (10,141 assists) for sixth on the all-time list. 

Credit for the idea: NBA Debates/Instagram

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