List of NBA annual scoring leaders

In basketball, points are accumulated through free throws or field goals.^[1] The National Basketball Association's (NBA) scoring title is awarded to the player with the highest points per game average in a given season. The scoring title was originally determined by total points scored through the 1968–69 season, after which points per game was used to determine the leader instead.^[2] The three-point field goal was introduced in the NBA at the start of the 1979–80 season.^[3][4] To qualify for the scoring title, a player must appear in at least 58 games (out of 82). However, a player who appears in fewer than 58 games may qualify as annual scoring leader if his point total would have given him the greatest average, had he appeared in 58 games.^[5] For the scoring title, this has been the requirement since the 2013–14 season, with requirements changing several times previously throughout history.^[6]

Michael Jordan recorded 10 scoring titles in his career—the most in NBA history.

Wilt Chamberlain holds the all-time records for total points scored (4,029) and points per game (50.4) in a season; both records were achieved in the 1961–62 season.^[7] He also holds the rookie records for points per game when he averaged 37.6 points in the 1959–60 season.^[7] Among active players, James Harden has the highest point total (2,818) and the highest scoring average (36.1) in a season; both were achieved in the 2018–19 season.

Michael Jordan has won the most scoring titles, with 10.^[8] Jordan and Chamberlain are the only players to have won seven consecutive scoring titles (this was also Chamberlain's career total).^[8] George Gervin, Allen Iverson and Kevin Durant have won four scoring titles in their career,^[9] and James Harden, George Mikan, Neil Johnston and Bob McAdoo have achieved it three times. Paul Arizin, Bob Pettit, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid have each won the scoring title twice. Since the 1946–47 season, six players have won both the scoring title and the NBA championship in the same season: Joe Fulks in 1947 with the Philadelphia Warriors, Mikan from 1949 to 1950 with the Minneapolis Lakers, Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor)^[g] in 1971 with the Milwaukee Bucks, Jordan from 1991 to 1993 and from 1996 to 1998 with the Chicago Bulls, O'Neal in 2000 with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in 2025 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.^[2][10] Since the introduction of the three-point field goal, O'Neal is the only scoring leader to not have made a three-pointer during the season.^[11]

At 21 years and 197 days, Durant is the youngest scoring leader in NBA history, averaging 30.1 points in the 2009–10 season,^[12] while at 35 years and 72 days, Jordan is the oldest scoring leader, averaging 28.7 points in the 1997–98 season.^[13] Stephen Curry led the league with an average of 30.1 points in the 2015–16 season and became the first player to win the title shooting 50–40–90 in a season. Russell Westbrook led the league with an average of 31.6 points in the 2016–17 season, when he also became the second NBA player to average a triple-double in a season. The most recent champion is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Annual leaders

Joe Fulks won the first scoring title in 1947.

Wilt Chamberlain won seven consecutive scoring titles from 1960 to 1966.

Jerry West won the scoring title in 1970, averaging 31.2 points per game.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won scoring titles in 1971 and 1972.

Allen Iverson won scoring titles in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2005.

Kobe Bryant won scoring titles in 2006 and 2007.

LeBron James won the scoring title in 2008 en route to becoming the NBA's all-time scoring leader in 2023.

Kevin Durant became the youngest scoring champion in 2010. He won another three in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

Stephen Curry became the first player to win the title shooting 50–40–90 in 2016, he won it again in 2021

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning scoring leader for the NBA after averaging 32.7 points during the 2024–25 season.

^		Denotes player who is still active in the NBA
*		Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
§		1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2025[14]
‡		Denotes player who won the Most Valuable Player award that year
Player (X)		Denotes the number of times the player had been the scoring leader up to and including that season
G	Guard		F	Forward	C	Center

Season	Player	Age[a]	Pos[b]	Team	GP	Field goals made	3-point field goals made	Free throws made	Total points	Points per game	Ref
1946–47	Joe Fulks*	25	F/C	Philadelphia Warriors	60	475	—	439	1,389	23.2	[15][16]
1947–48	Max Zaslofsky[c]	22	G/F	Chicago Stags	48	373	—	261	1,007	21.0	[18][19]
1948–49	George Mikan*	24	C	Minneapolis Lakers	60	583	—	532	1,698	28.3	[20][21]
1949–50	George Mikan* (2)	25	C	Minneapolis Lakers	68	649	—	567	1,865	27.4	[21][22]
1950–51	George Mikan* (3)	26	C	Minneapolis Lakers	68	678	—	576	1,932	28.4	[21][23]
1951–52	Paul Arizin*	23	F/G	Philadelphia Warriors	66	548	—	578	1,674	25.4	[24][25]
1952–53	Neil Johnston*	23	C	Philadelphia Warriors	70	504	—	556	1,564	22.3	[26][27]
1953–54	Neil Johnston* (2)	24	C	Philadelphia Warriors	72	591	—	577	1,759	24.5	[27][28]
1954–55	Neil Johnston* (3)	25	C	Philadelphia Warriors	72	521	—	589	1,631	22.7	[27][29]
1955–56 ‡	Bob Pettit*	23	F/C	St. Louis Hawks	72	646	—	557	1,849	25.7	[30][31]
1956–57	Paul Arizin* (2)	28	F/G	Philadelphia Warriors	71	613	—	591	1,817	25.6	[25][32]
1957–58	George Yardley*	29	F/G	Detroit Pistons	72	673	—	655	2,001	27.8	[33][34]
1958–59 ‡	Bob Pettit* (2)	26	F/C	St. Louis Hawks	72	719	—	667	2,105	29.2	[31][35]
1959–60 ‡	Wilt Chamberlain*[d]	23	C	Philadelphia Warriors	72	1,065	—	577	2,707	37.6	[36][37]
1960–61	Wilt Chamberlain* (2)	24	C	Philadelphia Warriors	79	1,251	—	531	3,033	38.4	[37][38]
1961–62	Wilt Chamberlain* (3)[e]	25	C	Philadelphia Warriors	80	1,597	—	835	4,029	50.4	[37][39]
1962–63	Wilt Chamberlain* (4)	26	C	San Francisco Warriors	80	1,463	—	660	3,586	44.8	[37][40]
1963–64	Wilt Chamberlain* (5)	27	C	San Francisco Warriors	80	1,204	—	540	2,948	36.9	[37][41]
1964–65	Wilt Chamberlain* (6)	28	C	San Francisco Warriors Philadelphia 76ers	73	1,063	—	408	2,534	34.7	[37][42]
1965–66 ‡	Wilt Chamberlain* (7)	29	C	Philadelphia 76ers	79	1,074	—	501	2,649	33.5	[37][43]
1966–67	Rick Barry*	22	F	San Francisco Warriors	78	1,011	—	753	2,775	35.6	[44][45]
1967–68	Dave Bing*[f]	24	G	Detroit Pistons	79	835	—	472	2,142	27.1	[48][49]
1968–69	Elvin Hayes*[g]	23	F/C	San Diego Rockets	82	930	—	467	2,327	28.4	[50][51]
1969–70	Jerry West*[h]	31	G	Los Angeles Lakers	74	831	—	647	2,309	31.2	[53][54]
1970–71 ‡	Lew Alcindor*[i]	23	C	Milwaukee Bucks	82	1,063	—	470	2,596	31.7	[56][57]
1971–72 ‡	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* (2)	24	C	Milwaukee Bucks	81	1,159	—	504	2,822	34.8	[57][58]
1972–73	Nate Archibald*	24	G	Kansas City-Omaha Kings	80	1,028	—	663	2,719	34.0	[59][60]
1973–74	Bob McAdoo*	22	C/F	Buffalo Braves	74	901	—	459	2,261	30.6	[61][62]
1974–75 ‡	Bob McAdoo* (2)	23	C/F	Buffalo Braves	82	1,095	—	641	2,831	34.5	[62][63]
1975–76	Bob McAdoo* (3)	24	C/F	Buffalo Braves	78	934	—	559	2,427	31.1	[62][64]
1976–77	Pete Maravich*	29	G	New Orleans Jazz	73	886	—	501	2,273	31.1	[65][66]
1977–78	George Gervin*[j]	25	G/F	San Antonio Spurs	82	864	—	504	2,232	27.2	[72][73]
1978–79	George Gervin* (2)	26	G/F	San Antonio Spurs	80	947	—	471	2,365	29.6	[73][74]
1979–80	George Gervin* (3)	27	G/F	San Antonio Spurs	78	1,024	32	505	2,585	33.1	[73][75]
1980–81	Adrian Dantley*	24	F/G	Utah Jazz	80	909	2	632	2,452	30.7	[76][77]
1981–82	George Gervin* (4)	29	G/F	San Antonio Spurs	79	993	10	555	2,551	32.3	[73][78]
1982–83	Alex English*	29	F	Denver Nuggets	82	959	2	406	2,326	28.4	[79][80]
1983–84	Adrian Dantley* (2)	27	F/G	Utah Jazz	79	802	1	813	2,418	30.6	[77][81]
1984–85	Bernard King*[k]	28	F	New York Knicks	55	691	1	426	1,809	32.9	[83][84]
1985–86	Dominique Wilkins*[l]	26	F	Atlanta Hawks	78	888	13	577	2,366	30.3	[86][87]
1986–87	Michael Jordan*	23	G	Chicago Bulls	82	1,098	12	833	3,041	37.1	[88][89]
1987–88 ‡	Michael Jordan* (2)	24	G	Chicago Bulls	82	1,069	7	723	2,868	35.0	[89][90]
1988–89	Michael Jordan* (3)	25	G	Chicago Bulls	81	966	27	674	2,633	32.5	[89][91]
1989–90	Michael Jordan* (4)	26	G	Chicago Bulls	82	1,034	92	593	2,753	33.6	[89][92]
1990–91 ‡	Michael Jordan* (5)	27	G	Chicago Bulls	82	990	29	571	2,580	31.5	[89][93]
1991–92 ‡	Michael Jordan* (6)	28	G	Chicago Bulls	80	943	27	491	2,404	30.1	[89][94]
1992–93	Michael Jordan* (7)	29	G	Chicago Bulls	78	992	81	476	2,541	32.6	[89][95]
1993–94	David Robinson*[m]	28	C	San Antonio Spurs	80	840	10	693	2,383	29.8	[97][98]
1994–95	Shaquille O'Neal*	22	C	Orlando Magic	79	930	0	455	2,315	29.3	[99][100]
1995–96 ‡	Michael Jordan* (8)	32	G	Chicago Bulls	82	916	111	548	2,491	30.4	[89][101]
1996–97	Michael Jordan* (9)	33	G	Chicago Bulls	82	920	111	480	2,431	29.6	[89][102]
1997–98 ‡	Michael Jordan* (10)[n]	34	G	Chicago Bulls	82	881	30	565	2,357	28.7	[89][105]
1998–99[o]	Allen Iverson*[p]	23	G	Philadelphia 76ers	48	435	58	356	1,284	26.8	[108][109]
1999–00 ‡	Shaquille O'Neal* (2)	27	C	Los Angeles Lakers	79	956	0	432	2,344	29.7	[100][110]
2000–01 ‡	Allen Iverson* (2)[q]	25	G	Philadelphia 76ers	71	762	98	585	2,207	31.1	[109][112]
2001–02	Allen Iverson* (3)[r]	26	G	Philadelphia 76ers	60	665	78	475	1,883	31.4	[109][114]
2002–03	Tracy McGrady*[s]	23	G/F	Orlando Magic	75	829	173	576	2,407	32.1	[116][117]
2003–04	Tracy McGrady* (2)[t]	24	G/F	Orlando Magic	67	653	174	398	1,878	28.0	[117]
2004–05	Allen Iverson* (4)	29	G	Philadelphia 76ers	75	771	104	656	2,302	30.7	[109]
2005–06	Kobe Bryant*	27	G	Los Angeles Lakers	80	978	180	696	2,832	35.4	[119]
2006–07	Kobe Bryant* (2)	28	G	Los Angeles Lakers	77	813	137	667	2,430	31.6	[119]
2007–08	LeBron James^[u]	23	F	Cleveland Cavaliers	75	794	113	549	2,250	30.0	[121]
2008–09	Dwyane Wade*	27	G	Miami Heat	79	854	88	590	2,386	30.2	[122]
2009–10	Kevin Durant^[v]	21	F	Oklahoma City Thunder	82	794	128	756	2,472	30.1	[124]
2010–11	Kevin Durant^ (2)	22	F	Oklahoma City Thunder	78	711	145	594	2,161	27.7	[124]
2011–12[w]	Kevin Durant^ (3)[x]	23	F	Oklahoma City Thunder	66	643	133	431	1,850	28.0	[124]
2012–13	Carmelo Anthony*[y]	28	F	New York Knicks	67	669	157	425	1,920	28.7	[128]
2013–14 ‡	Kevin Durant^ (4)	25	F	Oklahoma City Thunder	81	849	192	703	2,593	32.0	[124]
2014–15	Russell Westbrook^[z]	26	G	Oklahoma City Thunder	67	627	86	546	1,886	28.1	[130]
2015–16 ‡	Stephen Curry^[aa]	28	G	Golden State Warriors	79	805	402	363	2,375	30.1	[132]
2016–17 ‡	Russell Westbrook^ (2)	28	G	Oklahoma City Thunder	81	824	200	710	2,558	31.6	[130]
2017–18 ‡	James Harden^[ab]	28	G	Houston Rockets	72	651	265	624	2,191	30.4	[134]
2018–19	James Harden^ (2)	29	G	Houston Rockets	78	843	378	754	2,818	36.1	[134]
2019–20	James Harden^ (3)	30	G	Houston Rockets	68	672	299	692	2,335	34.3	[134]
2020–21	Stephen Curry^ (2)	32	G	Golden State Warriors	63	658	337	362	2,015	32.0	[132]
2021–22	Joel Embiid^[ac]	27	C	Philadelphia 76ers	68	666	93	654	2,079	30.6	[136]
2022–23 ‡	Joel Embiid^ (2)[ad]	28	C	Philadelphia 76ers	66	728	66	661	2,183	33.1	[138]
2023–24	Luka Dončić^[ae]	25	G	Dallas Mavericks	70	804	284	478	2,370	33.9	[140]
2024–25 ‡	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander^	26	G	Oklahoma City Thunder	76	860	163	601	2,484	32.7	[141]

Multiple-time leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Times leader	Years
1	Michael Jordan	Chicago Bulls	10	1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
2	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors/San Francisco Warriors (5) / Philadelphia 76ers (2)	7	1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
3	Kevin Durant	Oklahoma City Thunder	4	2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
	George Gervin	San Antonio Spurs		1978, 1979, 1980, 1982
	Allen Iverson	Philadelphia 76ers		1999, 2001, 2002, 2005
6	James Harden	Houston Rockets	3	2018, 2019, 2020
	Neil Johnston	Philadelphia Warriors		1953, 1954, 1955
	Bob McAdoo	Buffalo Braves		1974, 1975, 1976
	George Mikan	Minneapolis Lakers		1949, 1950, 1951
10	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Milwaukee Bucks	2	1971, 1972
	Paul Arizin	Philadelphia Warriors		1952, 1957
	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers		2006, 2007
	Stephen Curry	Golden State Warriors		2016, 2021
	Adrian Dantley	Utah Jazz		1981, 1984
	Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers		2022, 2023
	Tracy McGrady	Orlando Magic		2003, 2004
	Shaquille O'Neal	Orlando Magic (1) / Los Angeles Lakers (1)		1995, 2000
	Bob Pettit	St. Louis Hawks		1956, 1959
	Russell Westbrook	Oklahoma City Thunder		2015, 2017

See also

• Sports portal

• List of NBA career scoring leaders
• List of NBA career 3-point scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball League (United States) season scoring leaders
• List of NBA annual 3-point scoring leaders
• List of NBA annual assists leaders
• List of NBA annual rebounding leaders
• List of NBA annual steals leaders
• List of NBA annual blocks leaders
• List of NBA annual field goal percentage leaders

Notes

1. At the start of February 1 of that season.
2. The player's primary position is listed first.
3. In the 1947–48 season, Joe Fulks averaged the most points (22.1) but had only played in 43 games and totaled 949 points, the second-highest total.^[16][17]
4. Wilt Chamberlain holds the all-time rookie record for points per game.^[7]
5. Wilt Chamberlain holds the all-time record for total points scored and points per game in a single season.^[7]
6. In the 1967–68 season, Oscar Robertson averaged the most points (29.2) but had only played in 65 games and totaled 1,896 points, the sixth-highest total.^[46][47]
7. Elvin Hayes is the last rookie to lead the league in scoring average.
8. In the 1969–70 season, rookie Lew Alcindor had the highest point total (2,361) but was second in scoring average (28.8).^[52]
9. Before the 1971–72 season, Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.^[55]
10. In the 1977–78 season, George Gervin defeated David Thompson for the scoring title in the closest scoring duel ever (27.21 to 27.15). Thompson scored 73 on the last day of the season and Gervin answered with 63 (Gervin also broke Thompson's record of 32 points set earlier on the same day in the first quarter by scoring a record 33 points in the second quarter).^{[67][68][69][70]} Both Thompson's and Gervin's games were losses.^[71]
11. In the 1984–85 season, rookie Michael Jordan had the highest point total (2,313) but was third in scoring average (28.2). Bernard King tied for the twelfth-highest point total (1,809) but had the highest scoring average (32.9).^[82]
12. In the 1985–86 season Alex English had the highest point total (2,414) but was third in scoring average (29.8).^[85]
13. In the 1993–94 season, David Robinson scored 71 points in the final game of the season to edge Shaquille O'Neal (29.3) for the scoring title.^[96]
14. In the 1997–98 season, Michael Jordan defeated Shaquille O'Neal for the scoring title in the third-closest race ever (28.7 to 28.3).^[103] Jordan, at 35 years and 60 days old, is the oldest scoring leader in NBA history.^[104]
15. The 1998–99 season was shortened to 50 games due to the league's lockout.^[106] The qualification of this season's scoring title is to appear in at least 43 games (out of 50) or to have at least 854 points.^[6]
16. In the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, Shaquille O'Neal had the highest point total (1,289) but was second in scoring average (26.3).^[107]
17. In the 2000–01 season, Jerry Stackhouse had the highest point total (2,380) but was second in scoring average (29.8).^[111]
18. In the 2001–02 season, Paul Pierce had the highest point total (2,144) but was third in scoring average (26.1).^[113]
19. In the 2002–03 season, Kobe Bryant had the highest point total (2,461) but was second in scoring average (30.0).^[115]
20. In the 2003–04 season, Kevin Garnett had the highest point total (1,987) but was third in scoring average (24.2).^[118]
21. In the 2007–08 season, Kobe Bryant had the highest point total (2,323) but was second in scoring average (28.3).^[120]
22. In the 2009–10 season, Kevin Durant defeated LeBron James for the scoring title (30.1 to 29.7).^[123] Durant, at 21 years and 197 days old, is the youngest scoring leader in NBA history.^[12]
23. The 2011–12 season was shortened to 66 games due to the league's lockout.^[125] The qualification of this season's scoring title is to appear in at least 56 games (out of 66) or to have at least 1127 points.^[6]
24. In the 2011–12 season, Kevin Durant defeated Kobe Bryant for the scoring title in the second-closest scoring race ever (28.03 to 27.86).^[103][126] Bryant, who needed to score 38 points in the final game to win, decided to sit out.^[126]
25. In the 2012–13 season, Kevin Durant had the highest point total (2,280) but was second in scoring average (28.1).^[127]
26. In the 2014–15 season, James Harden had the highest point total (2,217) but was second in scoring average (27.4).^[129]
27. In the 2015–16 season, James Harden had the highest point total (2,376) but was second in scoring average (29.0).^[131]
28. In the 2017–18 season, LeBron James had the highest point total (2,251) but was third in scoring average (27.5).^[133]
29. In the 2021–22 season, Trae Young had the highest point total (2,155) but was fourth in scoring average (28.4).^[135]
30. In the 2022–23 season, Jayson Tatum had the highest point total (2,225) but was sixth in scoring average (30.1).^[137]
31. In the 2023–24 season, Joel Embiid averaged 34.7 points per game. However, he only played 39 games that season, failing to meet the 58-game threshold.^[139]