Poll: Best scorer in NBA history

[Jvalin]

Since the NBA season got suspended, let's discuss some NBA history.

I tried to narrow it down to 20 players. Honorable mentions: Rick Barry, Steph Curry, Adrian Dantley, Tim Duncan, Alex English, Julius Erving, John Havlicek, Neil Johnston, Bernard King, Pete Maravich, Bob McAdoo, Tracy McGrady, George Mikan, Reggie Miller, Bob Pettit

I'm talking about just pure scoring: the ability to take efficient shots / put the ball in the basket. Couldn't care less how they did/do it (shooting, slashing, posting up, whatever).

Fwiw, here are the all-time scoring leaders:



And here are the all time leaders in points per game (throughout their career):

[RLewis35]

I wouldn’t vote for him as best ever, but I think Alex English belongs on this list.

[Jvalin]

I wouldn’t vote for him as best ever, but I think Alex English belongs on this list.

You are right. I edited the post and included him in the honorable mentions.

[Donoghus]

I voted Wilt. 

The guy once averaged 50 ppg a season! 

And he almost certainly could've done it multiple times if he really wanted to.

[Somebody]

I think Reggie Miller deserves to be on this list as well. His scoring jump in the playoffs was unrivalled (only Jordan was his contemporary when it came to RS to playoffs leaps for SGs iirc) - he was averaging 27-28 points per 75 possessions on elite efficiency during his prime in the playoffs, and his playoff improvement held throughout his career.

Here's a great article on Miller:
https://backpicks.com/2018/01/18/backpicks-goat-29-reggie-miller/

[Somebody]

By far and away Michael Jordan. Basketball historians have labelled Wilt Chamberlain as the most dominant scorer in NBA history, but this title belongs to His Airness: his scoring and efficiency numbers when you adjust for league average and pace are absolutely incredible in both the regular season and playoffs (he also has an insane leap in scoring come playoff time to further separate him from the non KD pack).

[Jvalin]

It seems like it's gonna be a landslide victory for MJ. Personally speaking, I'd take Wilt, Kareem and Bird over Jordan, but that's just me.

I mean, Wilt averaged 50.4 points per game during the 1960-1961 season! Not to mention the 100-point game. Imo, he's the best pure scorer of them all.

Larry was hands down the better shooter. He could create space for his own shot no matter the circumstances. Similarly to Jordan, he thrived under pressure. Always loved the Pat Riley quote: "If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save a game I'd choose Michael Jordan; If I had to choose a player to take a shot to save my life...I'd take Larry Bird."

Kareem's skyhook was probably the most unstoppable shot in the history of basketball.

[Jvalin]

I think Reggie Miller deserves to be on this list as well. His scoring jump in the playoffs was unrivalled (only Jordan was his contemporary when it came to RS to playoffs leaps for SGs iirc) - he was averaging 27-28 points per 75 possessions on elite efficiency during his prime in the playoffs, and his playoff improvement held throughout his career.

Here's a great article on Miller:
https://backpicks.com/2018/01/18/backpicks-goat-29-reggie-miller/

Fair enough. If you ask me, I think Reggie was a shooter rather than a scorer. Having said that, I've already included Steph who is also predominantly a shooter. I'll include Reggie in the honorable mentions.

[Somebody]

I think Reggie Miller deserves to be on this list as well. His scoring jump in the playoffs was unrivalled (only Jordan was his contemporary when it came to RS to playoffs leaps for SGs iirc) - he was averaging 27-28 points per 75 possessions on elite efficiency during his prime in the playoffs, and his playoff improvement held throughout his career.

Here's a great article on Miller:
https://backpicks.com/2018/01/18/backpicks-goat-29-reggie-miller/

Fair enough. If you ask me, I think Reggie was a shooter rather than a scorer. Having said that, I've already included Steph who is also predominantly a shooter. I'll include Reggie in the honorable mentions.

Eh he wasn't just flying off screens for catch and shoot threes, read the article to see his mode of attack (or to be exact the footnotes) - it was much more diverse than what you think.

[gouki88]

I think things like this are always tricky. I think in the modern game Larry would be a simply unstoppable scorer, and would be number one. MJ would be similarly dominant, but he was a better scorer at the time. I mean, what kind of freak talent retires twice, the second time being a 3 year retirement, and on both occasions comes back to score 20+ PPG instantly. I feel like his ability to score 30 year after year in an era of grinding play is very impressive. Plus, he was clutch, could shoot from all levels and played well in the playoffs.

Wilt and Kareem definitely deserve consideration, but I think it's MJ for me.

[moiso]

I think Reggie Miller deserves to be on this list as well. His scoring jump in the playoffs was unrivalled (only Jordan was his contemporary when it came to RS to playoffs leaps for SGs iirc) - he was averaging 27-28 points per 75 possessions on elite efficiency during his prime in the playoffs, and his playoff improvement held throughout his career.

Here's a great article on Miller:
https://backpicks.com/2018/01/18/backpicks-goat-29-reggie-miller/

Fair enough. If you ask me, I think Reggie was a shooter rather than a scorer. Having said that, I've already included Steph who is also predominantly a shooter. I'll include Reggie in the honorable mentions.

Eh he wasn't just flying off screens for catch and shoot threes, read the article to see his mode of attack (or to be exact the footnotes) - it was much more diverse than what you think.

Nobody is going to consider Miller the best scorer in NBA history so why do we have to mention him?

[Somebody]

I think Reggie Miller deserves to be on this list as well. His scoring jump in the playoffs was unrivalled (only Jordan was his contemporary when it came to RS to playoffs leaps for SGs iirc) - he was averaging 27-28 points per 75 possessions on elite efficiency during his prime in the playoffs, and his playoff improvement held throughout his career.

Here's a great article on Miller:
https://backpicks.com/2018/01/18/backpicks-goat-29-reggie-miller/

Fair enough. If you ask me, I think Reggie was a shooter rather than a scorer. Having said that, I've already included Steph who is also predominantly a shooter. I'll include Reggie in the honorable mentions.

Eh he wasn't just flying off screens for catch and shoot threes, read the article to see his mode of attack (or to be exact the footnotes) - it was much more diverse than what you think.

Nobody is going to consider Miller the best scorer in NBA history so why do we have to mention him?

I mean nobody is going to consider Alex English to be the best scorer in NBA history, yet he was mentioned.

[gouki88]

I think Reggie Miller deserves to be on this list as well. His scoring jump in the playoffs was unrivalled (only Jordan was his contemporary when it came to RS to playoffs leaps for SGs iirc) - he was averaging 27-28 points per 75 possessions on elite efficiency during his prime in the playoffs, and his playoff improvement held throughout his career.

Here's a great article on Miller:
https://backpicks.com/2018/01/18/backpicks-goat-29-reggie-miller/

Fair enough. If you ask me, I think Reggie was a shooter rather than a scorer. Having said that, I've already included Steph who is also predominantly a shooter. I'll include Reggie in the honorable mentions.

Eh he wasn't just flying off screens for catch and shoot threes, read the article to see his mode of attack (or to be exact the footnotes) - it was much more diverse than what you think.

Nobody is going to consider Miller the best scorer in NBA history so why do we have to mention him?

I mean nobody is going to consider Alex English to be the best scorer in NBA history, yet he was mentioned.

I think a guy with a 7 year stretch of averaging over 27+PPG is more deserving than a guy with no seasons higher than 24.6PPG.

I also think you might be overrating his playoff jump, as he never averaged more than 25.5PPG in a playoff run with more than 4 games.

[Redz]

Pistol Pete deserves some mention.

I’d go with Wilt or Shaq as being the most indefensible.  Even the best shooters and drivers could have off nights.  There was no stopping either of those guys when they got the ball close to the hoop.

[nickagneta]

Gotta be Jordan. He did what he did while only taking 1778 three pointers his whole 15 year career.

As a comparison, modern day scorers like Steph Curry twice shot over 800 threes in a season and Harden had a year with over 1000 threes attempted.

MJ doing what he did while averaging only 1.7 threes taken per game for his career is eye popping