Most Points Scored in the NBA Since 2000

LeBron James has scored the most points scored in the NBA since 2000 with 43,440. Kevin Durant ranks second with 32,597, Dirk Nowitzki is third with 31,175, Kobe Bryant is fourth with 30,888 and James Harden completes the top five with 29,339.

This leaderboard covers points scored from the beginning of the 1999-00 NBA season through the completed 2025-26 season. The phrase “since 2000” refers to the NBA season that ended in 2000, not a January 1 calendar cutoff.

The seven graphics rank the 25 players with at least 19,450 points. The complete table extends the same regular-season leaderboard to the top 50. Playoff, Play-In Tournament, preseason, All-Star and international points are excluded.

This is a cumulative scoring list, not a subjective ranking of the greatest scorers. Total points determine the order, while efficiency, scoring average, playoff production, shot difficulty and era provide additional context.

How This NBA Scoring Leaderboard Works

The ranking uses regular-season points scored from 1999-00 through 2025-26. It is not adjusted for games played, points per game, pace, position, offensive role or scoring efficiency.

Career totals reward peak production, availability and longevity. A player must remain healthy and important to an offense for many seasons to reach the highest tiers.

The graphic cutoffs are 40,000-plus, 36,000-39,999, 32,000-35,999, 28,000-31,999, 24,000-27,999, 20,900-23,999 and 19,450-20,899 points. Tier 2 is intentionally empty.

What Counts Toward the Leaderboard?

Only regular-season points count. Postseason scoring is excluded, which is especially important when comparing players with extensive playoff careers.

The leaderboard includes all points scored from field goals, three-pointers and free throws. It does not distinguish between efficient and inefficient production or adjust totals for changes in pace and league rules.

The 1999-00 starting point also removes early seasons from players whose careers began before that year. Their totals therefore differ from the standard NBA career scoring leaderboard.

How the 1999-00 Cutoff Changes Career Totals

Ten players in the top 50 began their careers before 1999-00. Their earlier points are removed so every player is measured over the same period.

Tier 7: 19,450-20,899 Points

#25 Tony Parker – 19,473 Points

Scoring résumé: 19,473 regular-season points, four championships, one Finals MVP and six All-Star selections.

Tony Parker closes the graphic with 19,473 points. His speed, paint finishing and floater gave San Antonio consistent guard scoring for nearly two decades.

Parker rarely played in a system built around individual totals, but he became the Spurs’ leading offensive creator during several championship-contending seasons.

#24 Dwight Howard – 19,485 Points

Scoring résumé: 19,485 regular-season points, eight All-Star selections, three Defensive Player of the Year awards and one championship.

Dwight Howard accumulated points through rim runs, offensive rebounds, post finishes and free throws. His scoring was powered by athletic dominance rather than perimeter creation.

Howard’s defensive peak often receives more attention, but he also averaged at least 20 points in four seasons.

#23 Allen Iverson – 19,539 Points

Scoring résumé: 19,539 points from 1999–00 onward, 24,368 full career points, one MVP award and four scoring titles.

Allen Iverson’s first three NBA seasons are excluded, removing nearly 5,000 points from his official career total. That is why his place looks lower than expected.

Iverson’s scoring impact was much larger than the rank suggests. He carried enormous usage, attacked the rim despite his size and won four scoring titles.

#22 Antawn Jamison – 19,593 Points

Scoring résumé: 19,593 points from 1999–00 onward, 20,042 full career points and two All-Star selections.

Antawn Jamison’s 449 rookie points from 1998–99 are excluded from this leaderboard. He still reached 19,593 during the selected period.

Jamison used quick releases, unconventional finishes and strong off-ball instincts to score without dominating possession.

#21 Joe Johnson – 20,407 Points

Scoring résumé: 20,407 regular-season points and seven All-Star selections.

Joe Johnson scored 20,407 points through strength, ball handling and calm isolation creation. His ability to manufacture late-clock offense made him one of the most dependable scorers of the 2000s.

Johnson’s total combines a strong Atlanta peak with years of adaptable perimeter scoring across several teams.

#20 LaMarcus Aldridge – 20,558 Points

Scoring résumé: 20,558 regular-season points and seven All-Star selections.

LaMarcus Aldridge built a 20,000-point career around one of the era’s most reliable midrange games. His turnaround jumper and high release were difficult for both power forwards and centers to contest.

Aldridge produced long primes in Portland and San Antonio before closing his career in Brooklyn.

#19 Pau Gasol – 20,894 Points

Scoring résumé: 20,894 regular-season points, two NBA championships and six All-Star selections.

Pau Gasol leads Tier 7 with 20,894 points. His scoring came through soft touch, post footwork, midrange shooting and the ability to finish with either hand.

Gasol became a franchise star in Memphis and then the essential frontcourt partner for Kobe Bryant’s final two championship teams.

Tier 6: 20,900-23,999 Points

#18 Ray Allen – 20,945 Points

Scoring résumé: 20,945 points from 1999–00 onward, 24,505 full career points, two championships and a former career three-point record.

Ray Allen scored 20,945 points during the selected period after beginning his career in 1996. His earlier production is excluded.

Allen was an elite primary scorer before becoming known mainly as a movement shooter. His ability to adapt extended his career and helped shape the modern three-point game.

#17 Kevin Garnett – 21,432 Points

Scoring résumé: 21,432 points from 1999–00 onward, 26,071 full career points, one championship, one MVP and one Defensive Player of the Year award.

Kevin Garnett’s total excludes his first four NBA seasons. That is why the graphic places him lower than his full career scoring record would.

Garnett combined face-up scoring, post play and midrange shooting with elite defense and passing. His value extended well beyond points.

#16 Giannis Antetokounmpo – 21,531 Points

Scoring résumé: 21,531 regular-season points, two MVP awards, one championship, one Finals MVP and one Defensive Player of the Year award.

Giannis Antetokounmpo reached 21,531 points through transition dominance, rim pressure and physical force. He developed from a low-usage prospect into one of the league’s most efficient high-volume scorers.

Because he began his career in 2013, his full total is included. He reached this total with one of the strongest scoring rates among the players in Tier 6.

#15 Damian Lillard – 22,598 Points

Scoring résumé: 22,598 regular-season points, nine All-Star selections and one of the deepest shooting ranges in league history.

Damian Lillard built his total through high-volume three-point shooting, pick-and-roll creation and repeated late-game scoring. Few players on the list produced more points per appearance.

His combination of range and on-ball responsibility made him Portland’s offensive engine for more than a decade.

#14 Chris Paul – 23,058 Points

Scoring résumé: 23,058 regular-season points, 12 All-Star selections, five assist titles and six steals titles.

Chris Paul reached 23,058 points despite spending most of his career as a pass-first point guard. His midrange pull-up, ball control and late-game decision-making gave him reliable scoring value.

Paul’s position this high reflects remarkable longevity and efficiency. Scoring was only one part of his overall offensive impact.

#13 Dwyane Wade – 23,165 Points

Scoring résumé: 23,165 regular-season points, three NBA championships, one Finals MVP and one scoring title.

Dwyane Wade scored through rim pressure, transition attacks, post work and one of the best first steps of his generation. His prime combined elite scoring with defense and playmaking.

Injuries reduced his total relative to some long-career scorers, but his peak and postseason production remain among the strongest of the era.

#12 Tim Duncan – 23,681 Points

Scoring résumé: 23,681 points from 1999–00 onward, 26,496 full career points, five championships, two MVP awards and three Finals MVP awards.

Tim Duncan ranks 12th because his first two seasons are excluded. His scoring was less flashy than many perimeter stars, but his post fundamentals, bank shot and consistency anchored San Antonio for nearly two decades.

Duncan’s placement is also a reminder that the list measures points only. His defensive value and championship impact were even greater than the scoring total suggests.

Tier 5: 24,000-27,999 Points

#11 Vince Carter – 24,815 Points

Scoring résumé: 24,815 points from 1999–00 onward, 25,728 full career points and eight All-Star selections.

Vince Carter closes Tier 5 with 24,815 points since the 1999–00 season. His rookie production from 1998–99 is excluded.

Carter evolved from an explosive franchise scorer into a dependable veteran shooter and role player. That adaptation allowed him to remain productive across an exceptionally long career.

#10 Paul Pierce – 25,606 Points

Scoring résumé: 25,606 points from 1999–00 onward, 26,397 full career points, one NBA championship and one Finals MVP award.

Paul Pierce scored 25,606 points during the selected period. His 791 rookie points from 1998–99 are not included.

Pierce used strength, pacing and footwork to create half-court offense without elite speed. His long Boston prime and productive late-career stops pushed him into the top 10.

#9 Stephen Curry – 26,528 Points

Scoring résumé: 26,528 regular-season points, four NBA championships, two MVP awards and the NBA record for made three-pointers.

Stephen Curry changed NBA shot selection while climbing to 26,528 points. His range, movement without the ball and ability to create efficient offense from beyond the arc reshaped how teams build attacks.

Curry has played fewer games than most players around him, making his position especially impressive. His scoring rate makes the total especially impressive relative to the number of games he has played.

#8 DeMar DeRozan – 26,711 Points

Scoring résumé: 26,711 regular-season points and six All-Star selections.

DeMar DeRozan reached 26,711 points while becoming the modern league’s leading midrange specialist. He continued producing even as NBA offenses shifted heavily toward three-point shooting.

His footwork, pump fakes and late-clock shot creation allowed him to remain a dependable scorer across four franchises.

#7 Russell Westbrook – 27,176 Points

Scoring résumé: 27,176 regular-season points, one NBA MVP award, two scoring titles and four seasons averaging a triple-double.

Russell Westbrook leads Tier 5 with 27,176 points. His scoring was built on transition speed, rim pressure, pull-up jumpers and an unmatched level of aggression at point guard.

Westbrook’s efficiency has always been debated, but his durability, usage and ability to create offense without ideal spacing produced one of the biggest point totals of the era.

Tier 4: 28,000-31,999 Points

#6 Carmelo Anthony – 28,289 Points

Scoring résumé: 28,289 regular-season points, 10 All-Star selections and the 2012–13 scoring title.

Carmelo Anthony closes Tier 4 as one of the most polished half-court scorers of his era. His jab step, post strength and pull-up jumper allowed him to create offense without needing a screen.

Anthony produced elite volume in Denver and New York before adapting to smaller roles late in his career. That combination of peak and longevity carried him beyond 28,000 points.

#5 James Harden – 29,339 Points

Scoring résumé: 29,339 regular-season points, one NBA MVP award and three scoring titles.

James Harden ranks fifth after producing one of the highest-volume offensive peaks ever. His step-back three, left-handed drives and free-throw generation made him the center of Houston’s offense for years.

Harden later shifted toward more playmaking responsibility, but the scoring accumulated quickly enough during his prime to keep him comfortably inside Tier 4.

#4 Kobe Bryant – 30,888 Points

Scoring résumé: 30,888 points from 1999–00 onward, 33,643 full career points, five NBA championships, one MVP and two Finals MVP awards.

Kobe Bryant scored 30,888 points beginning with the 1999–00 season. His first three NBA seasons are excluded, so the graphic does not show his complete career total.

Bryant built his scoring résumé through footwork, post play, difficult shot-making and relentless volume. His 81-point game remains one of the defining individual performances in NBA history.

#3 Dirk Nowitzki – 31,175 Points

Scoring résumé: 31,175 points from 1999–00 onward, 31,560 full career points, one NBA championship, one Finals MVP and one league MVP.

Dirk Nowitzki ranks third on this specific leaderboard. The total excludes the 385 points he scored as a rookie in 1998–99, which explains why it is lower than his official career number.

Nowitzki’s shooting and one-legged fadeaway changed the expectations for scoring big men. He also carried Dallas to one of the most impressive championship runs of the modern era.

Tier 3: 32,000-35,999 Points

#2 Kevin Durant – 32,597 Points

Scoring résumé: 32,597 regular-season points, two NBA championships, two Finals MVP awards, one league MVP and four scoring titles.

Kevin Durant is the only player besides LeBron to clear 32,000 points since 2000. His combination of height, handle, shooting touch and release point has made him one of the most difficult scorers to contest in league history.

Durant owns Tier 3 by himself because no player currently falls between 32,000 and 35,999 points. His efficiency separates him from many other high-volume scorers on the list.

Tier 2: 36,000-39,999 Points

No player finished the 2025-26 season with a total between 36,000 and 39,999 points. LeBron James has moved far beyond the range, while Kevin Durant remains below it at 32,597.

Tier 1: 40,000+ Points

#1 LeBron James – 43,440 Points

Scoring résumé: 43,440 points since the 1999–00 season, four NBA championships, four MVP awards and the NBA career scoring record.

LeBron James stands alone as the only player above 40,000 points during this period. Because his career began in 2003, every regular-season point he has scored is included.

His scoring longevity is unmatched, but the total is not built on longevity alone. James has remained an elite rim attacker, transition scorer, post option and improving outside shooter across more than two decades.

Biggest Takeaways

LeBron James Has Created Historic Separation

LeBron leads Durant by 10,843 points. The gap between first and second is larger than the entire career scoring total of many long-term NBA starters.

Tier 2 Is Completely Empty

No player appears between 36,000 and 39,999 points. LeBron is beyond 43,000, while Durant is the only other player above 32,000 during the selected period.

The Date Restriction Changes Several Famous Totals

Bryant, Duncan, Garnett, Iverson and other pre-1999 players lose meaningful early-career production. Iverson loses 4,829 points, while Garnett loses 4,639.

Stephen Curry’s Rank Undersells His Scoring Rate

Curry ranks ninth in cumulative points despite playing fewer games than most players near him. His efficiency, three-point volume and off-ball scoring influence are not fully represented by the raw rank.

The Expanded Table Adds Major Active Scorers

Anthony Davis and Paul George sit immediately below the graphic cutoff, while Devin Booker, Nikola Jokić, Klay Thompson and other major scorers appear in the extended top 50.

Point Totals and Scoring Greatness Are Different Questions

Career points reward longevity and availability. Scoring average, true shooting percentage, playoff production, era and shot creation difficulty can produce a different ranking of the greatest scorers.

Complete Top 50 NBA Points Since 2000 Table

The seven graphics and individual write-ups cover the 25 players with at least 19,450 points. The table extends the same regular-season leaderboard to the top 50. Players ranked 26 through 50 fall below the Tier 7 cutoff and do not receive a graphic tier.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who has scored the most points in the NBA since 2000?

LeBron James leads with 43,440 regular-season points from the 1999-00 season through 2025-26.

Who ranks second?

Kevin Durant ranks second with 32,597 regular-season points.

Why is Kobe Bryant shown with 30,888 instead of 33,643?

The leaderboard begins with 1999-00, so 2,755 points from Bryant’s first three NBA seasons are excluded.

Why is Tier 2 empty?

Tier 2 covers 36,000 to 39,999 points, and no player finished the selected period inside that range.

Who ranks 50th in NBA points since 2000?

Kyle Lowry ranks 50th with 16,373 regular-season points.

Are playoff points included?

No. This leaderboard uses regular-season points only.

Does “since 2000” begin on January 1, 2000?

No. The ranking begins with the 1999-00 NBA season.

Sources and Data Notes

The ranking and top-50 table were checked against the supplied career-stat export, NBA.com’s official regular-season leaders and the Basketball-Reference career scoring table.

For players who debuted before 1999-00, points from earlier seasons were subtracted from their official career totals. Playoff points were excluded from every calculation.

Period covered: 1999-00 through 2025-26
Statistic: Regular-season points
Last reviewed: July 22, 2026

Conclusion

LeBron James leads the most points scored in the NBA since 2000 leaderboard with 43,440. Kevin Durant stands alone above 32,000, while Nowitzki, Bryant, Harden and Anthony form the next major scoring group.

The deeper tiers show different routes to career volume. Westbrook used relentless rim pressure and usage, Curry changed the geometry of NBA offense, Duncan scored within a balanced dynasty and Carter extended his career by adapting to smaller roles.

The 1999-00 cutoff remains essential. Ten players in the top 50 lose early-career production, which is why Bryant, Duncan, Garnett, Iverson and others appear below the totals most fans associate with their careers.

The expanded table runs through Kyle Lowry at No. 50 with 16,373 points. The order precisely answers who scored the most during the period, while a broader evaluation of scoring greatness still requires efficiency, playoff production and era context.

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