Top 5 NBA Scoring Leaders All Time
The following is a list of the Top 5 NBA Scorers of All Time
Hoopsvibe's quick call: Random facts like this are always interesting, especially for true hoops fans.
karl-malone
Kobe Moves To 4th On All Time Scoring List. Where Will He Finish?
Kobey Bryant moves to 4th on the all-time points list topping Chamberlain. Where on the list will he finish?
HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: He won't finish first, but really records always appear less important when you're struggling to make the playoffs.
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Top 5 Scorers To Never Lead NBA In Scoring
For as great as these players were at scoring, they never led the league in per game average at any time in their career.
HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: The players on this list are surprising.
5. David Thompson
One of the games early high flyers, Thompson could really fill it up. In his lone ABA season he averaged 26.0 ppg (third best) before moving to the NBA and averaging 25.9 in 1976-77 (fourth most) and 27.1 in 1977-78 (second most).
4. Carmelo Anthony
With a 2012-13 average of 28.7, Anthony is currently second in the league in scoring behind Kevin Durant by a mere .4 points per game. Anthony has been one of the most consistent scorers in the league since he was drafted nine years ago. Melo's his career average is 24.9 and he has finished second in scoring once with 28.9 in 2006-07 and third in 2009-10.
3. Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk and his gaudy 22.7 career average has never been higher in a single season than it was in 2005-06 when he scored 26.6 a game, but that was only seventh best in the league. He has finished in fourth a couple of times, but other than that, he has never finished higher that sixth in any single season, which is also where he ranks amongst current players in terms of highest ppg.
2. Karl Malone
If he wanted to lead the league in scoring, Malone picked the wrong time to be a productive scorer. The Mailman finished second an amazing five times, third three times, fourth twice and fifth three times. All of those were over a span of 13 consecutive years. His career average of 25.0 is 12th best in NBA history.
1. Elgin Baylor
Even though Baylor is fourth all-time in per game scoring average (27.3) he never lead the league in scoring. He finished second in scoring two separate times (both behind Wilt Chamberlain) with impressive averages of 34.8 in 1960-61 and 34.0 in 1962-63. He also finished third twice and fourth four separate times. For as prolific as Baylor was in all aspects of the game (13.5 rpg, 4.3 apg), his scoring production is incredible.
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Today In NBA History 1954: First Overtime All-Star Game Ever
59 years ago today, the NBA All-Star game had the first overtime game in its history.
HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: Bob Cousy stepped up and delivered.
The legendary Boston Celtics guard poured in 10 points during the overtime period and gave the East a 98-93 victory, also garnering All-Star MVP honors in the process.
This game was so long ago that George Mikan, the original "big man", played in it, going just six of 18 from the field and nearly fouling out. Dolph Schayes is the only other name I could recognize besides the aforementioned Cousy and Mikan. But what's interesting about that is that even the average NBA fan knows those names, which shows you the kind of impact they made on the game and the league.
In hindsight though, it's pretty sad that in an All-Star game with an extra period, the teams combined for just 191 points. 26 years later, the second OT All-Star game occurred with the West pulling out an eight point victory and the two teams combined for 280 points. The game had changed.
Aside from those two OT games, there have been four others, occurring in 1984, 1987, 1993 and 2003.
In '84, Isiah Thomas took home MVP honors after a 21 point, 15 assist, five rebound game. In '87, Seattle's Tom Chambers won the award while he was playing for the Supersonics, accumulating 34 points as the games leading scorer.
In '93, with the game held in Utah, John Stockton and Karl Malone were named co-MVP's of the game, which was as absurd and partial as it sounds.
In '03, the first double OT game in history occurred. Kevin Garnett was named the MVP after scoring a game high 37, making three straight baskets in the second OT. Interestingly, this was Michael Jordan's last All-Star game.
As the years have gone on, the games have become more and more competitive, with the last three games being decided by a total of 10 points. But it all began back in 1954. Read More
Kobe Bryant surpasses 30,000 points, Lakers get the win
On the Lakers' 9th win of the season, Kobe Bryant surpassed 30,000 points in his career.
Hoopsvibe's quick call: Kobe hitting 30,000 is an amazing milestone, but I bet the entire organization is just happy to get a win.
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There’s Only One “Dream Team”, Sorry Kobe- Just Ask My Starting Lineup Figurines
Can you believe it’s been 20 years since the original Dream Team dominated the 1992 Summer Olympics? It must've been that long if Kobe thinks this year's incarnation would have ANY SHOT against them.
HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: There will never be another Dream Team, in any sport.
Perhaps even more amazingly, can you believe that in all that time that I have maintained my collection of Starting Lineup Dream Team figurines in its original box, unopened and untouched by human hands? On a trip to a local Target with my step mother, I conned her into buying it for me; $100 when you're twelve feels like $1,000,000. It was the kind of gift you could only secure via guilt. It was the sort of reverse psychology that women have been employing on me ever since.
I remember one time in 8th grade during my 13th birthday party it was discovered by a party goer named Eric Hoffman who spent at least two hours prying me to open it. It was the ultimate peer pressure situation, but I held firm. It turns out I should’ve probably opened it because since then it’s appreciated roughly $20 in nearly 20 years. But every time I see it, I remember how special that team was, even though Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner, as late additions, were not included in the set.
Did you know that Laettner was actually selected over Shaquille O’Neal for the final spot? We all saw what Charles Barkley did to that Angolan; imagine what Shaq could’ve done. The Dream Team beat their opponents in the Olympics that year by an average score of 44 points a game and looked so cool doing it.
The closest margin of victory was a 32 point win over Croatia which included NBA players Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja, Drazen Petrovic, Stojko Vrankovic and Zan Tabak. Croatia won the Silver Medal and led by all that talent, ushered in a new era for the NBA where overseas players began to be viewed as valuable as their American counterparts. Today you can look at almost every NBA roster and find a player from another country, but in 1992 it was extremely rare.
Michael Jordan was the only player to start all eight games which really speaks to how great he was. Even surrounded by all those Alpha Males, there was no question who the top dog was. Jordan took 30 more shots than anyone else, but Barkley was the leading scorer putting up 18 ppg. Just in case anyone forgot, check out this roster; it would be akin to playing a game against the Hall of Fame as 11 of the players (minus Laettner) are actually in the Hall of Fame:
Michael Jordan- 14.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.8 apg
David Robinson- 9.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.9 apg
Patrick Ewing- 9.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg. 0.4 apg
Larry Bird- 8.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 apg
Scottie Pippen- 9.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 5.9 apg
Clyde Drexler- 10.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.6 apg
Karl Malone- 13.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.1 apg
John Stockton- 2.8 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 2.0 apg
Chris Mullin- 12.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 3.6 apg
Charles Barkley- 18 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.4 apg
Magic Johnson- 8.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 5.5 apg
Christian Laettner- 4.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.4 apg
Since the original Dream Team won Gold, the rest of the world gradually caught up and no other US Olympic team was even close to being as dominant. In what can only be described as an affront to the supreme quality of the original (and only, in my mind) Dream Team is that each of the next two USA Olympic teams were also referred as the “Dream Team” though really, who are they fooling? A team with Steve Smith on it should never be referred to as a “Dream Team”. A more suitable moniker would be “Team of Guys Who Are Above Average NBA Players”.
The Dream Team wasn't just the greatest team ever assembled for the way it dominated on the court, but it actually furthered the development of the sport for the entire world.
Sorry, Kobe.
How Dangerous is Blake Griffin?
I’m not talking about Javaris Crittenton dangerous. It’s more like “scary player can dominate the NBA like Jordan” dangerous. The kid right now is already in many people’s top ten lists. Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, and Shawn Kemp were not THIS explosive. They were not this good early in their careers. Griffin is so good that I had to acknowledge that he might be a future triple double factory in this piece. Seriously, how great can this kid get without factoring in injuries like he sustained in his first year?
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Dirk Nowitzki’s Current Rank – Better than Malone, Garnett, and Barkley?
The German Bomber has a great career. He is showing no signs of slowing down either. Did you ever think the guy would be here? Yep, I didn’t. This question now has to be posed if it had not already – Has he surpassed Karl Malone, Kevin Garnett, and Charles Barkley? This is a serious question. Before having a grand historic 2010-2011 season, no one should dare think about it. Today, things changed dramatically. What’s scarier? Nowitzki remains efficient.
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1985 NBA Draft; Best First Round Ever?
Was the envelope frozen? Or was the crease in the upper right hand/folded corner enough for the commish to know it was the correct envelope to pick? Watching the NBA Draft this past week, and the tepid response from most fans concerning who would go number one overall, is a long way from when it was held in 1985. Back in 1985 the Draft actually mattered because Patrick Ewing was at stake.
Karl Malone and Wife Kay Malone
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NBA Legends who are not the GOAT
This comes up every playoff time involving great active players such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James right now in 2011. Whenever one of them goes deep in a playoff run putting up good statistics and highlight plays, the media and former players gas these guys up. The method is definitely a “prisoner of the moment” type thing. Why do you guys do it? There is a lot of front running and some trolling. All good though. I’m ready. We’re ready. My body is ready. Let’s do this. Remember that the standards are extremely high and strict. These legends have great accomplishments. However, further scrutiny causes them not be the ultimate GOAT.
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Scottie Pippen: LeBron is better than Michael Jordan
Scottie Pippen suggested, on ESPN Radio’s Mike And Mike In the Morning, that LeBron James, and not his former teammate, Michael Jordan, could end up being the greatest all-around player the league has ever seen.
“Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to ever play in the game, but I may go as far to say LeBron James is probably the greatest player to ever play the game,” Pippen said.
HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Take a deep breath. Now exhale. Repeat.
While you’re meditating please remember Scottie Pippen didn’t totally go there. He didn’t say LeBron James was better than Michael Jordan.
Pippen sure came close, though.
He said James may be a greater all-around player because of athleticism and size. And he said James can a dominate game in more ways than Jordan.
Purists will be offended. After all, Jordan has six championship rings. James has none. Jordan transcended basketball. James gave basketball a bad name with The Decision.
Still, Pippen, in theory, may have a point. James’ rare combination of size, speed, skill, and power gives him a unique advantage over any player to ever grace an NBA floor.
When it’s all said and done, James may eventually be in the same sentence as Jordan. Not now, though.
Here’s the reality: James lacks Jordan’s will and competitiveness. Remember, Jordan overcame the Detroit Pistons’ harsh tactics; upset Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals; handled Clyde the Glyde and Rip City; twice withstood the best John Stockton and Karl Malone, two Hall of Famers, could offer; and defeated Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, and the Seattle Sonics.
James has done nothing of the sort. Yet.
Let’s be fair: Jordan had help. It’s interesting his ‘help’ (Pippen) is so quick to deflect praise away from his former teammate and supposed friend towards others.
Maybe Pippen’s statement says more about the rivalry between him and Jordan, and less about James’ place in the game.
--Oly Sandor.
Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
If MJ Is The Greatest Who Is 2nd Best All-Time? Part Three
So, this is it ladies and germs. Over the first two articles (which you can read here and here) we assembled a list of ten players to decide who is the second best NBA player ever, behind Michael Jordan. This final list of five contains the only remaining players who deserve to be mentioned and considered.
The Greatest Team Ever Assembled
Can you believe it’s been 19 years since the original Dream Team dominated the 1992 Summer Olympics? Perhaps more amazingly, can you believe that in all that time that I have maintained my collection of Starting Lineup Dream Team figurines in its original box, unopened and untouched by human hands?
The Mailman Karl Malone’s All Time Rank- 3:10 to Utah
Utah Jazz’s Finest Karl Malone entered the Hall of Fame as another damn great player who did win an NBA title. I usually do not hold that against him since winning one is a team effort. However, as an individual, analysts and aficionados will have to count a championship ring less hand against him. Despite this, Malone remains a Hall of Famer and a helluva power forward.
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Karl Malone ‘delivers’ prediction for 2011: ‘I pick the Lakers’
At the Hall of Fame on Friday, Karl Malone said he thinks the Lakers will win another title, and Scottie Pippen isn't even sure the Heat will make the NBA Finals.
"I would say this: With the guys they got, they're going to be a hell of a team," Malone said of Miami. "I pick the Lakers."