Ranking Every Scoring Champion in NBA History
From Wilt Chamberlain to Michael Jordan to Kevin Durant, we ranked them all.
Image via Complex Original
30.
The game of basketball has changed a lot since Dr. James Naismith first invented it all the way back in 1891. The offenses that basketball teams use today are more complex. The defenses are, too. And the hoops that players try to score on aren't made out of peach baskets anymore. But the concept behind the game remains the same—the team with the most points at the end of a contest wins.
With that in mind, players who can score the basketball are still the most valuable players in the game. Take Kevin Durant, for example. KD—who turns 26 tomorrow—is arguably the best player in the NBA (and the entire world) right now. And he's the best because he can take the ball and put it in the basket at will during games. He can score from behind the three-point line, he can drive the ball to the bucket, and he can knock down his free throws. It's why he won the NBA scoring title last season—and why he won three other NBA scoring titles before that.
Is he the greatest scoring champion ever, though? To try and answer that question, we took a look back at all 29 players who have won the NBA scoring title since the league started keeping track of the distinction back in the early 1950s (just FYI, we didn't include any of the BAA or ABA scoring champions that were crowned over the years). Join us in Ranking Every Scoring Champion in NBA History to see where KD and his fellow scoring champions fall.
29.George Yardley
Scoring Titles: 1 (1957-58)
Career Scoring Average: 19.2 PPG
Although the former Pistons star only averaged more than 20 points on three occasions during his eight-year NBA career, he made history by becoming the first NBA player to ever score 2,000 points in a single season in 1957-58. He also set the record for the most free throws made (655) and attempted (808) during that same season.
28.Neil Johnston
Scoring Titles: 3 (1952-53, 1953-54, 1954-55)
Career Scoring Average: 19.4 PPG
Prior to his first season in the NBA back in 1951, Johnston wasn't even a basketball player. He was actually a 6-foot-8 pitcher for a Philadelphia Phillies' minor-league affiliate. But he found his true calling when he tried out for the Philadelphia Warriors and made the team. Armed with a deadly hook shot, he led the league in scoring on three occasions and eventually won an NBA title in 1956.
27.Dave Bing
Scoring Titles: 1 (1967-68)
Career Scoring Average: 20.3 PPG
For what it's worth, Oscar Robertson should have won the scoring title the year that Bing won it. He actually averaged more points than Bing, but back in the late 1960s, the NBA awarded the scoring title to the player who scored the most points during the season rather than the player who averaged the most points. And Bing played 14 more games than Robertson did that year, which allowed him to score more total points. But you still have to give Bing a lot of credit for winning the title that season because he scored almost 300 more points than Robertson in just his second year in the NBA.
26.David Robinson
Scoring Titles: 1 (1993-94)
Career Scoring Average: 21.1 PPG
The Admiral averaged more than 20 points in each of his first seven NBA seasons. He also averaged more than 10 rebounds in those years and established himself as one of the best big men in the entire league. But as far as scoring went, his best season came in 1993-94 when he edged out Shaquille O'Neal for the scoring title by dropping 71 points in a late-season game against the Clippers (Sidebar: Why don't people talk about that game more?!). He averaged just 0.5 points more than Shaq did that season to become the scoring champion.
25.Dwyane Wade
Scoring Titles: 1 (2008-09)
Career Scoring Average: 24.3 PPG
The Heat weren't very good during the 2008-09 season. Their pre-LeBron James and Chris Bosh roster included guys like Jamario Moon, Dorell Wright, and JamaalMagloire. But Wade single-handedly carried them to the playoffs by averaging more than 30 points per game that year. It was by far his most productive NBA season as a scorer.
24.Paul Arizin
Scoring Titles: 2 (1951-52, 1956-57)
Career Scoring Average: 22.8 PPG
"Pitchin' Paul"—who was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history back in 1996—probably could have won more scoring titles than he did. His line-drive jumper was lethal. But he was forced to sit out both the 1952-53 and 1953-54 NBA seasons while serving in the Korean War. Despite that, he was still one of the best scorers of his era.
23.Bernard King
Scoring Titles: 1 (1984-85)
Career Scoring Average: 22.5 PPG
In March 1985, the Knicks power forward suffered a devastating knee injury that temporarily knocked his career off course. But prior to that injury, he absolutely lit up the league. On Christmas Day 1984, he recorded 40 points before halftime during a game against the New Jersey Nets and finished the game with 60 points. And throughout his career, he was one of the most-feared power forwards in the game of basketball on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
22.Bob Pettit
Scoring Titles: 2 (1955-56, 1958-59)
Career Scoring Average: 26.4 PPG
There aren't very many former or current NBA players who can say that they've done something related to scoring that Michael Jordan didn't do. But Pettite—an 11-time NBA All-Star—can. The former Hawks forward/center is one of only two NBA players in league history to average more than 20 points in every single season that he played in the NBA. MJ almost did the same thing, but he "only" finished with 20.0 points per game in his final year with the Wizards.
21.Elvin Hayes
Scoring Titles: 1 (1968-69)
Career Scoring Average: 21.0 PPG
The former University of Houston star wasted absolutely no time showing the rest of the NBA that he could score the basketball. He won the scoring title in his very first season in the league and is the last NBA rookie to lead the league in scoring. He went on to average more than 20 points in 10 of his 16 NBA seasons and also grabbed more than 16,000 rebounds in his career, putting him fourth all-time in the rebounding category behind only Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
20.Alex English
Scoring Titles: 1 (1982-83)
Career Scoring Average: 21.5 PPG
At the beginning of his career, English was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's backup with the Milwaukee Bucks and didn't get the chance to play very much. So he didn't even average double figures in points. But after getting traded to the Pacers and then the Nuggets, he transformed himself into a legit scoring threat and, eventually, won a scoring title. When he retired in 1991, he was sixth on the all-time NBA scoring list and, while he has since dropped down to No. 15, he's still ahead of players like Reggie Miller, Jerry West, and Allen Iverson on the scoring list.
19.Adrian Dantley
Scoring Titles: 2 (1980-81, 1983-84)
Career Scoring Average: 24.3 PPG
Though he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1977-78 with the Buffalo Braves, Dantley spent his first four years in the league bouncing around from team to team. He spent time with the Braves, Pacers, and Lakers. But he found the most success with the Jazz in the early 1980s when he averaged more than 30 points per game for Utah for four straight seasons and won two scoring titles during that time span.
18.Pete Maravich
Scoring Titles: 1 (1976-77)
Career Scoring Average: 24.2 PPG
"Pistol Pete" proved that he could score the basketball prior to playing in the NBA. During his time at LSU, he scored more than 3,600 points and averaged an astonishing 44.2 points per game. And he continued to put up points in bunches once he went pro. His most successful season came in 1976-77 when he scored 40 points during 13 games and topped it off with a 68-point performance during a game against the Knicks. It was, at the time, the most points scored in a single game by a guard.
17.Nate "Tiny" Archibald
Scoring Titles: 1 (1972-73)
Career Scoring Average: 18.8 PPG
After averaging 34.0 points during the 1972-73 season and winning the NBA scoring title, Archibald never came close to averaging more than 30 points again. His next highest season-long average was 26.5 points per game during the 1974-75 season. But what Archibald did the year he won the scoring title was incredible. He led the league in both points and assists and is the only player ever to do that in an NBA season.
16.Tracy McGrady
Scoring Titles: 2 (2002-03, 2003-04)
Career Scoring Average: 19.6 PPG
After two very respectable seasons with the Magic back in 2000-01 and 2001-02—he averaged 26.8 and 25.6 points per game in those years—T-Mac absolutely exploded in 2002-03 and ended up winning two consecutive scoring titles with averages of 32.1 and 28.0 points per game. Unfortunately, though, Orlando finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference in 2003-04. Still, McGrady was a guy who continued to put up numbers on the boards until injuries derailed his career and he's considered one of the best pure scorers in league history.
15.Carmelo Anthony
Scoring Titles: 1 (2012-13)
Career Scoring Average: 25.3 PPG
There was a little bit of controversy surrounding Anthony's scoring title back in 2013. Kevin Durant actually had a chance to win the scoring title but, because he would have needed to score 70 points to do it, he decided to sit out of the Thunder's last game of the season to get some rest, which gave Anthony the title. Regardless, Anthony is arguably the best pure scorer in the NBA today and is just about always in the running for the scoring title.
14.Dominique Wilkins
Scoring Titles: 1 (1985-86)
Career Scoring Average: 24.8 PPG
If not for Michael Jordan, the former Hawks great would probably have way more scoring titles than he has today. After averaging 30.3 points in 1985-86, he averaged 29.0 PPG in 1986-87 and 30.7 PPG in 1987-88 and finished second to MJ in the scoring race both times. Wilkins was known as a dominant scorer all throughout the 1980s and made Atlanta a factor in the Eastern Conference year in and year out when he was in his prime.
13.Jerry West
Scoring Titles: 1 (1969-70)
Career Scoring Average: 27.0 PPG
"The Logo" did a little bit of everything during his NBA career. He dished out assists, he grabbed his fair share of rebounds, and he shot free throws at an extremely high percentage. But he was also an exceptional scorer and, if not for his one-time teammate Wilt Chamberlain, he probably would have ended up with more than just one scoring title. But he proved just how prolific he could be when Chamberlain went down with a knee injury during the 1969-70 season, which forced West to step up his scoring.
12.Rick Barry
Scoring Titles: 1 (1966-67)
Career Scoring Average: 24.8 PPG
Here's all you really need to know about Barry: He's the only basketball player to ever lead the NCAA, the ABA, and the NBA in scoring. Towards the end of his NBA career, he became more of a distributor of the basketball and his scoring averages dipped as a result of it. But at the beginning of his career, before he suffered a knee injury during the 1968-69 season, Barry was one of the best scorers in the league and was known for scoring in a variety of different ways.
11.LeBron James
Scoring Titles: 1 (2007-08)
Career Scoring Average: 27.5 PPG
Even though King James could probably lead the league in scoring every single season, he opts not to take as many shots per game as some of his fellow superstars. He explained why back in late 2012. "If I wanted to, I could lead the league in scoring, but that's not my job," he said. "My job is to do a lot of everything—rebounding, passing, and defending—so that takes away from my scoring. I've done [the scoring title] before. I'm capable of doing it, but my game sometimes doesn't allow me to have those big nights." As LBJ has proved in the past, though, he's more than capable of dropping 40, 50, or even 60 points if need be.
10.George Mikan
Scoring Titles: 2 (1949-50, 1950-51)
Career Scoring Average: 23.1 PPG
The former Lakers great—who earned the nickname "Mr. Basketball"—was a 6-foot-10 center who often towered over opposing players. So he had absolutely no problem scoring at will and actually forced the NBA to change a few of their rules because of it. The league widened the paint and introduced a shot clock in order to try and limit Mikan's effectiveness on the block. But for the most part, it didn't work and he spent almost his entire career dominating the competition.
9.Shaquille O'Neal
Scoring Titles: 2 (1994-95, 1999-00)
Career Scoring Average: 23.7 PPG
Doesn't it feel like Shaq should have won more than two scoring titles? At one point, he was literally unstoppable in the paint. Unfortunately, his inability to shoot free throws—he averaged about 52 percent during his career—and the fact that he played for so many years alongside Kobe Bryant prevented him from winning more than two titles. But he still managed to average at least 20 points per game through his first 14 NBA seasons and he's currently in sixth place on the all-time NBA scoring list.
8.Kobe Bryant
Scoring Titles: 2 (2005-06, 2006-07)
Career Scoring Average: 25.5 PPG
One of the biggest criticisms that Kobe has faced over the years is that he doesn't have more scoring titles than he does. Michael Jordan managed to earn 10 scoring titles during his illustrious career. And because Kobe and MJ are compared so frequently, Kobe's scoring titles, or lack thereof in comparison to MJ, is a sticking point for a lot of MJstans. But make no mistake about it: Kobe has scored a ton of points over the years. He's currently in fourth place on the all-time NBA scoring list, just 592 points behind—you guessed it—MJ.
7.Allen Iverson
Scoring Titles: 4 (1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2004-05)
Career Scoring Average: 26.7 PPG
AI won his first scoring title during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 NBA season. But he proved that it wasn't a fluke over the next five years by winning it three more times. The former 76ers great is considered one of the greatest scorers of all time because of his ability to put the ball in the basket despite his short stature and he finished his career in 22nd place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
6.Bob McAdoo
Scoring Titles: 3 (1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76)
Career Scoring Average: 22.1 PPG
During the 1973-74 season, the Buffalo Braves forward/center became the last player in NBA history to average 30 points and 15 rebounds per game. He also won his first of three consecutive scoring titles. Injuries unfortunately plagued him throughout the middle part of his career. But after joining the Lakers in 1981, he was able to win two NBA titles while playing alongside Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy—even though it took a toll on his individual stats and limited the number of points he was able to put up.
5.Kevin Durant
Scoring Titles: 4 (2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2013-14)
Career Scoring Average: 27.4 PPG
During the 2009-10 season, KD averaged 30.1 points and became the youngest player in NBA history to win the scoring title. It was just his third season in the NBA. Since then, the Thunder forward has won three more scoring titles—most recently, he averaged 32.0 points per game during the 2013-14 season—and if not for Carmelo Anthony in 2012-13, KD very well could have won five consecutive scoring titles. He finally won his first NBA MVP award last season.
4.George Gervin
Scoring Titles: 4 (1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1981-82)
Career Scoring Average: 25.1 PPG
Before Michael Jordan came along, no one had seen a shooting guard who could score quite like Gervin could. He won his first scoring title during the 1977-78 season, narrowly beating out David Thompson by putting up a 63-point performance in his final game of the year. He won the title much more easily the next two seasons—he averaged a career-high 33.1 points per game in 1979-80—and eventually collected four titles overall. He never won an NBA title, but he's still widely considered one of the greatest shooting guards in league history.
3.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Scoring Titles: 2 (1970-71, 1971-72)
Career Scoring Average: 24.6 PPG
The former Bucks/Lakers center is yet another player who should probably have more than just two scoring titles. After all, he's the leading scorer in NBA history with more than 38,000 points, which is almost 7,000 points more than Kobe Bryant has right now (he's the only active player who's even in the neighborhood). But Abdul-Jabbar scored so many points because he played in the NBA for 20 years and never averaged less than 10 points per game. His two scoring titles came in 1970-71 and 1971-72 when he averaged a career-high 31.7 and 34.8 points per game.
2.Wilt Chamberlain
Scoring Titles: 7 (1959-60, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1965-66)
Career Scoring Average: 30.1 PPG
You could easily make a case—a very strong case—for Chamberlain to be No. 1 on this list based on nothing but his 1961-62 season. That year, he averaged 50.4 points per game (!). And he had a bunch of other really amazing seasons, too. In his rookie season in 1959-60, he averaged 37.6 points per game. He also put up 44.8 points per game in 1962-63. And, well, we think you get the point. Chamberlain was a force in the paint for 15 years and was simply unstoppable during most of his NBA seasons.
1.Michael Jordan
Scoring Titles: 10 (1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98)
Career Scoring Average: 30.1 PPG
The only person who could stop MJ from winning the scoring title was MJ himself. He won seven consecutive scoring titles in the late 1980s and early 1990s before retiring and giving up the crown to David Robinson in 1993-94 and Shaquille O'Neal in 1994-95. But once he made his triumphant return to the Bulls in 1995, he went right back to winning scoring titles and collected three more of them before retiring again. It's kind of amazing to think that had he not retired, he could have finished his career with upwards of 15 scoring titles. The G.O.A.T.'s legacy could have been even greater.