List of NBA 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, having scored 36,374 points for the Utah Jazz.

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
§	1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2026[11]
‡	Franchise with scoring leader on its current roster

Statistics accurate as of the 2024–25 NBA season.

Franchise[note 1]	Player	Points	Ref
Atlanta Hawks[note 2]	Dominique Wilkins*	23,292	[12]
Boston Celtics	John Havlicek*	26,395	[13]
Brooklyn Nets[note 3]	Brook Lopez^	10,444	[14]
Charlotte Hornets[note 4]	Kemba Walker§	12,009	[15]
Chicago Bulls	Michael Jordan*	29,277	[16]
Cleveland Cavaliers	LeBron James^	23,119	[17]
Dallas Mavericks	Dirk Nowitzki*	31,560	[18]
Denver Nuggets	Alex English*	21,645	[19]
Detroit Pistons[note 5]	Isiah Thomas*	18,822	[20]
Golden State Warriors‡[note 6]	Stephen Curry^	25,386	[21]
Houston Rockets[note 7]	Hakeem Olajuwon*	26,511	[22]
Indiana Pacers	Reggie Miller*	25,279	[23]
Los Angeles Clippers[note 8]	Randy Smith	12,735	[24]
Los Angeles Lakers[note 9]	Kobe Bryant*	33,643	[8]
Memphis Grizzlies[note 10]	Mike Conley^	11,733	[25]
Miami Heat	Dwyane Wade*	21,556	[26]
Milwaukee Bucks‡	Giannis Antetokounmpo^	20,538	[27]
Minnesota Timberwolves	Kevin Garnett*	19,201	[28]
New Orleans Pelicans[note 11]	Anthony Davis^	11,059	[29]
New York Knicks	Patrick Ewing*	23,665	[30]
Oklahoma City Thunder[note 12]	Russell Westbrook^	18,859	[31]
Orlando Magic	Dwight Howard*	11,435	[32]
Philadelphia 76ers[note 13]	Hal Greer*	21,586	[33]
Phoenix Suns‡	Devin Booker^	16,452	[34]
Portland Trail Blazers‡	Damian Lillard^	19,376	[35]
Sacramento Kings[note 14]	Oscar Robertson*	22,009	[36]
San Antonio Spurs	Tim Duncan*	26,496	[37]
Toronto Raptors	DeMar DeRozan^	13,296	[38]
Utah Jazz[note 15]	Karl Malone*	36,374	[39]
Washington Wizards[note 16]	Elvin Hayes*	15,551	[40]

Notes

1. This list only includes active NBA franchises.
2. Formerly St. Louis Hawks, Milwaukee Hawks, Tri-Cities Blackhawks
3. Formerly New York Nets, New Jersey Nets
4. Formerly Charlotte Bobcats (2004–2014)
5. Formerly Fort Wayne Pistons
6. Formerly San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia Warriors
7. Formerly San Diego Rockets
8. Formerly Buffalo Braves (1970–1978), San Diego Clippers (1978–1984)
9. Formerly Minneapolis Lakers (1947–1960)
10. Formerly Vancouver Grizzlies (1995–2001)
11. Formerly New Orleans Hornets (2002–2004, 2007–2013), New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (2005–2007)
12. Formerly Seattle SuperSonics (1967–2008)
13. Formerly Syracuse Nationals
14. Formerly Kansas City Kings, Kansas City-Omaha Kings, Cincinnati Royals, Rochester Royals
15. Formerly New Orleans Jazz (1974–1979)
16. Formerly Washington Bullets, Capital Bullets, Baltimore Bullets, Chicago Zephyrs, Chicago Packers