List of National Basketball Association franchise career scoring leaders

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men's basketball league, consisting of 30 teams in North America (29 in the United States and one in Canada). The NBA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).^[1] It adopted the name National Basketball Association at the start of the 1949–50 season when it merged with the National Basketball League (NBL).^[1] The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball, which is recognized by FIBA (a French acronym for "International Basketball Federation") as the National Governing Body (NGB) for basketball in the country.^[2] The league is considered to be one of the four major professional sports leagues of North America.^[3] There have been 15 defunct franchises in NBA history. In basketball, points are the sum of the score accumulated through free throw or field goal.^[4] The NBA introduced three-point field goals in the 1979–80 season as a bonus for field goals made from a longer distance.^[5][6] Karl Malone scored 36,374 points with the Utah Jazz, the most points by a player for a single franchise.^[7] Kobe Bryant leads the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring the most points in the NBA while playing for only one team in an entire career.^[8][9] Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks is second behind Bryant in scoring while playing for only one team. Oscar Robertson is the leading scorer for the Sacramento Kings franchise, playing all of his games when they were known as the Cincinnati Royals.^[10]

Scoring leaders

 

Karl Malone has scored the most points for a single team.

Statistics accurate as of October 25, 2023.

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
†	Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration^[note 1]
‡	Franchise with scoring leader on its current roster

Franchise^[note 2]	Player	Points	Ref
Atlanta Hawks^[note 3]	Dominique Wilkins*	23,292	^[11]
Boston Celtics	John Havlicek*	26,395	^[12]
Brooklyn Nets^[note 4]	Brook Lopez^	10,444	^[13]
Charlotte Hornets^[note 5]	Kemba Walker^	12,009	^[14]
Chicago Bulls	Michael Jordan*	29,277	^[15]
Cleveland Cavaliers	LeBron James^	23,119	^[16]
Dallas Mavericks	Dirk Nowitzki*	31,560	^[17]
Denver Nuggets	Alex English*	21,645	^[18]
Detroit Pistons^[note 6]	Isiah Thomas*	18,822	^[19]
Golden State Warriors‡^[note 7]	Stephen Curry^	21,739	^[20]
Houston Rockets^[note 8]	Hakeem Olajuwon*	26,511	^[21]
Indiana Pacers	Reggie Miller*	25,279	^[22]
Los Angeles Clippers^[note 9]	Randy Smith	12,735	^[23]
Los Angeles Lakers^[note 10]	Kobe Bryant*	33,643	^[8]
Memphis Grizzlies^[note 11]	Mike Conley Jr.^	11,733	^[24]
Miami Heat	Dwyane Wade*	21,556	^[25]
Milwaukee Bucks‡	Giannis Antetokounmpo^	16,280	^[26]
Minnesota Timberwolves	Kevin Garnett*	19,201	^[27]
New Orleans Pelicans^[note 12]	Anthony Davis^	11,059	^[28]
New York Knicks	Patrick Ewing*	23,665	^[29]
Oklahoma City Thunder^[note 13]	Russell Westbrook^	18,859	^[30]
Orlando Magic	Dwight Howard^†	11,435	^[31]
Philadelphia 76ers^[note 14]	Hal Greer*	21,586	^[32]
Phoenix Suns	Walter Davis	15,666	^[33]
Portland Trail Blazers	Damian Lillard^	19,376	^[34]
Sacramento Kings^[note 15]	Oscar Robertson*	22,009	^[35]
San Antonio Spurs	Tim Duncan*	26,496	^[36]
Toronto Raptors	DeMar DeRozan^	13,296	^[37]
Utah Jazz^[note 16]	Karl Malone*	36,374	^[38]
Washington Wizards^[note 17]	Elvin Hayes*	15,551	^[39]

Notes

1. A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.
2. This list only includes active NBA franchises.
3. Formerly St. Louis Hawks, Milwaukee Hawks, Tri-Cities Blackhawks
4. Formerly New York Nets, New Jersey Nets
5. Formerly Charlotte Bobcats (2004–2014)
6. Formerly Fort Wayne Pistons
7. Formerly San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia Warriors
8. Formerly San Diego Rockets
9. Formerly Buffalo Braves (1970–1978), San Diego Clippers (1978–1984)
10. Formerly Minneapolis Lakers (1947–1960)
11. Formerly Vancouver Grizzlies (1995–2001)
12. Formerly New Orleans Hornets (2002–2004, 2007–2013), New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (2005–2007)
13. Formerly Seattle SuperSonics (1967–2008)
14. Formerly Syracuse Nationals
15. Formerly Kansas City Kings, Kansas City-Omaha Kings, Cincinnati Royals, Rochester Royals
16. Formerly New Orleans Jazz (1974–1979)
17. Formerly Washington Bullets, Capital Bullets, Baltimore Bullets, Chicago Zephyrs, Chicago Packers

References

1. Goldaper, Sam (April 17, 2006). . NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
2. "About USA Basketball". USA Basketball. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
3. Pennington, Bill (April 4, 2003). "Drugs; Anti-Doping Executive Plans to Prod Pro Leagues". The New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
4. "Basketball glossary". FIBA.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
5. Brown, Clifton (February 5, 1990). "3-Pointer Adds Dimension To N.B.A". The New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
6. Haubner, Mark (January 2, 2003). "The trey is the thing in today's NBA". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
7. "LAKERS: Lakers Gameday 01/08/12 Grizzlies". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures. January 8, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012. In the history of the NBA, only two players have scored more points with a single franchise than Bryant (28,049): Karl Malone (1st/36,374) and Michael Jordan (2nd/29,277).
8. "Los Angeles Lakers Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
9. "NBA's 20,000-point Club, One Team - Kobe Bryant, Lakers, 26,398 points". SI.com. Time. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012. Kobe Bryant became the NBA's all-time leader in career points scored by a player who has just played for a single team on Dec. 10.
10. "The leading scorer in every NBA team's history". USA Today. March 19, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
11. "Atlanta Hawks Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
12. "Boston Celtics Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
13. "Brooklyn Nets Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
14. "Charlotte Hornets Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
15. "Chicago Bulls Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
16. "Cleveland Cavaliers Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
17. "Dallas Maverick Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
18. "Denver Nuggets Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
19. "Detroit Pistons Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
20. "Golden State Warriors Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
21. "Houston Rockets Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
22. "Indiana Pacers Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
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30. "Oklahoma City Thunder Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
31. "Orlando Magic Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
32. "Philadelphia 76ers Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
33. "Phoenix Suns Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
34. "Portland Trail Blazers Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
35. "Sacramento Kings Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
36. "San Antonio Spurs Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
37. "Toronto Raptors Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
38. "Utah Jazz Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
39. "Washington Wizards Career Leaders". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 16, 2015.