The NBA has 75 years of experience. Over time, there have been great players who have collected a ton of stats. These players were special enough to claim a record. Some records have lasted longer than others. In today’s league we have players who are claiming the record themselves.
As LeBron James, Chris Paul and Stephen Curry enter the final stages of their careers, these players are making history this season. This could be a special season when it comes to etching their names in the record books. As for Curry, it will be a question of how far he can extend his record.
These are the all-time totals records for the NBA.
Dots – Kareem Abdul Jabbar
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1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 38,387 Points
2. LeBron James – 37,062 Points
3. Karl Malone – 36,928 Points
For now, Abdul-Jabbar holds that record but he will likely see the same drop by the end of the coming season. The first three years of his career saw Abdul-Jabbar lead the league in total points. This included five consecutive seasons of at least 2,000 points or more. His career-high 2,822 points came in the 1971–72 season. It was part of nine total seasons that featured at least 2,000 or more points.
LeBron James is coming for this record. Last year, James scored 1,695 points overall. If he can get around that total, he will have no problem passing Abdul-Jabbar in 2023. James has 10 seasons to score at least 2,000 points. His career-high 2,251 total points came with the Cavaliers during the 2017-18 season.
Rebounds – Wilt Chamberlain
1. Wilt Chamberlain – 23,924 rebounds
2. Bill Russell – 21,620 rebounds
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 17,440 rebounds
There are only two players with at least 20,000 career rebounds. During their playing days in the 50s, 60s and 70s, Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell led the league in rebounding. The greatest to ever do so is Chamberlain, who led the league 11 times in total rebounds. That included four straight seasons to open his career, which also included a season where he scored over 4,000 points and 2,000 rebounds in 1961-62.
Chamberlain has had at least 2,000 total rebounds twice in his career. He had over 1,900 five other times as well. Chamberlain had one season where he failed to record at least 1,000 rebounds in a season, which was the 1969-70 season, when he only played 12 games due to injury. Other than that, Chamberlain’s career rebounding average of 22.89 remains an NBA record.
Assists – John Stockton
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1. John Stockton – 15,806 assists
2. Jason Kidd – 12,091 assists
3. Chris Paul – 10,977 assists
The combination of John Stockton and Karl Malone was historic for the Jazz but also from a statistical point of view. When Malone retired, he was the second all-time leading scorer. As Malone put the ball in the basket, it was often Stockton who served the pass to set it up. For those efforts, Stockton remains the only player in NBA history to record over 15,000 career assists. Stockton led the league in assists for eight consecutive seasons between 1988 and 1996. This included six seasons with at least 1,000 assists in a season.
Assuming Chris Paul plays at least two more seasons, he could statistically become the second-best playmaker. Paul has never topped 1,000 assists in a season, but he has led the league three times. This includes reaching 700 or more assists seven times. His career-high 925 assists came in the 2007-08 season, which was his third year in the league.
Flights – John Stockton
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1. John Stockton – 3,265 flights
2. Jason Kidd – 2,684 flights
3. Michael Jordan – 2,514 steals
Only one player has reached at least 3,000 steals for his career. Stockton led the league in steals twice, but he consistently had at least 200 steals in a season. Stockton hit at least 200 steals in a season five times, consecutively between 1988 and 1992. Stockton missed 200 steals in consecutive seasons in 1993 and 1994 with 199 steals in total. In 1994-95, he again missed the mark with 194 interceptions.
Jason Kidd is the one who has come closest to Stockton in recent years. Kidd has never exceeded 200 interceptions in his career. He had 170+ interceptions in a season three times, including a career-high 175 interceptions in the 2001-02 season. It was the only time Kidd led the league in total steals.
Blocks – Hakeem Olajuwon
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1. Hakeem Olajuwon – 3,830 blocks
2. Dikembe Mutombo – 3,289 blocks
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 3,189 blocks
Olajuwon was a shot-blocking machine in the 80s and 90s. Olajuwon’s first season in the league saw him record over 200 blocks in one season. Olajuwon hit at least 200 or more blocks in the first 12 seasons of his career. He didn’t stop there either. Olajuwon hit 300 or more blocks three times, including his career-high 376 total blocks in the 1989-90 season. Olajuwon led the league in blocks twice.
Another shot blocker worth mentioning is Dikembe Mutombo. He often blocked shots, which led to his trademark wiggling of his fingers after each block to signal that the ball was not going to go into the hoop. Mutombo led the league in blocks for five consecutive years between 1994 and 1998. This included three straight seasons of 300 or more blocks.
Turnovers – LeBron James
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1. LeBron James – 4,788 turnovers
2. Karl Malone – 4,524 turnovers
3. Moses Malone – 4,264 turnovers
When Karl Malone retired, he was the all-time leader in revenue. That was until LeBron James passed him in recent years. For both players, that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily careless with the ball. Both players are in the center of their attack. The ball is in their hands a ton. This can lead to double or triple teams. When this happens, a rollover will occur once or twice.
James has never led the league in turnovers, but he topped at least 300 turnovers in a season twice, back-to-back in 2017 and 2018. His career-high 347 turnovers came during the season 2017-18. Malone led the league in turnovers once, his 325 being the highest in the 1987-88 season. Malone has reached at least 300 turnovers in a season twice.
3-PT Field Goals – Stephen Curry
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1. Stephen Curry – 3,117 3-point field goals
2. Ray Allen – 2,973 3-point field goals
3. James Harden – 2,593 3-point field goals
Before Stephen Curry and James Harden, it was Ray Allen and Reggie Miller. Both of these players were Hall of Famers, known for their outside shooting. Then Curry came along and became an all-time great. Curry broke the all-time three-point record last year and shows no signs of slowing down. When he retires, he could easily pass the 4,000 mark.
Curry led the league seven times with three field goals. He is the consecutive reigning champion in field goals. Curry is the only player to make at least 400 three-pointers in a season, his 402 in the 2015-16 season being an NBA record. As Curry pushes his record, Harden could look like the second player to pass Allen, making both players outside shooting legends.
Home Goals – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 15,837 field goals
2. LeBron James – 13,543 field goals
3. Karl Malone – 13,528 field goals
When you lead the league in points, it means you have to put the ball in the basket. Abdul-Jabbar led the league in scoring five field goals during his career. This included leading the league three consecutive seasons to open his career. Abdul-Jabbar surpassed 1,000 field goals in a season, including his career-high 1,159 field goals in the 1971-72 season.
By the time James retires, he might own that record as well. He’s at around 2,300 field goals. Last year, James scored 640 field goals. If James stays another four to five years and can score around 500 to 600 field goals every season, then he will catch up with Abdul-Jabbar. James led the league in field goals five times, including his career-high 857 in the 2017-18 season.
Free Throws – Karl Malone
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1. Karl Malone – 9,787 free throws
2. Moses Malone – 9,018 free throws
3. Kobe Bryant – 8,378 free throws
Malone was a career free throw shooter at 74.2%. If that percentage had been just a little higher, he might have had even more points in his career. That said, Malone was still good enough to take advantage of the free throw line. Malone led the league in eight free throws. This included five consecutive years between 1989 and 1993 and then 1997 to 1999. Maleon’s best season of 703 came during the 1989-90 season.
Another Malone was on the line just as often. Moses Malone led the league five times in free throw attempts, but twice made the most free throws. This included his career-high 737 free throws made in the 1985-85 season. In total, it’s just the pair of Malones who have more than 9,000 career free throws.
