Ranking The 20 Greatest Pure Scorers In NBA History

Yahoo

20-07-2025

Ranking The 20 Greatest Pure Scorers In NBA History originally appeared on Fadeaway World.
There's scoring, and then there's pure scoring. The likes of LeBron James and Stephen Curry fill stat sheets with everything from transition to coming off screens, but the truly pure scorers? They exist in another dimension, which means these two barely miss out. As Carmelo Anthony puts it, the great ones 'you put them in that corner, you'll get a bucket', no questions asked. These players wield scoring like a weapon, and we're here to crown the kings.
This is about scoring fluency and instinct. Forget the volume records and longevity; this is about the feel. Michael Jordan's 30.1 PPG over a career, Allen Iverson's dazzling drives, and George Gervin's effortless finger roll are examples of offensive prowess. They're the purest scorers of all time.
Let's rank the elite: the transcendent scorers who could will buckets into being, night after night. Some will surprise you. Others you'll argue with. But all of them were pure scorers.
20. Adrian Dantley
Career Total: 23,177 Points
Career Average: 24.3 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 4 (1981-1984)
Scoring Titles: 2 (1981, 1984)
Adrian Dantley was what coaches call a 'garage-band scorer', operating shoulder-to-shoulder in the low post, using hand-checking era muscle to draw contact and bury free throws. He wasn't a high-flyer or perimeter assassin, but his mid-range craft and physicality made him nearly unstoppable in traffic.
What stands out about Dantley is his efficiency: he converted at blistering rates even without the modern spacing or three-point threat. He was the hidden scoring weapon on several under-the-radar, gritty teams, and that relentless interior aggression defines purity in scoring.
19. Rick Barry
Career Total: 25,279 Points
Career Average: 24.8 PPG
Consecutive 30+ PPG Seasons: 0
Scoring Titles: 1 (1967)
Ricky Barry launched an underhanded free throw, a technique so funky you knew it had to work. But he was so much more, a slasher with a sniper's precision, using angled penetration and floaters long before the modern mid-range.
He wasn't physically imposing, yet he carved defenses with basketball IQ and touch. A forward whose quiet dominance laid early groundwork for positionless scoring. His best season came in 1967 when he dropped 35.6 PPG, but he also won a scoring title in the ABA in 1969 (34.0 PPG).
18. Dominique Wilkins
Career Total: 26,668 Points
Career Average: 24.8 PPG
Consecutive 30+ PPG Seasons: 0
Scoring Titles: 1 (1986)
The "Human Highlight Film" was a package of brute aesthetics: slashes to reverse lay-ins, thunderous dunks, and gliding pull-ups. Dominique Wilkins didn't rely on theatrics alone; he punished mismatches with footwork, drive, and a fluid midrange.
He came up short in an era of Magic-Bird connection, but Wilkins was the consummate scorer: charisma with accuracy. He could heat-check with a mid-30s night, and most nights, he delivered. For any old heads: Wilkins was your favorite player's favorite player growing up.
17. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Career Total: 38,387 Points
Career Average: 24.6 PPG
Consecutive 30+ PPG Seasons: 3 (1971-1973)
Scoring Titles: 2 (1971, 1972)
The skyhook is the prototype of a pure scoring move, an unblockable motion repeated thousands of times. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar turned it into a weapon so beautiful that defenses stopped chasing his feet. Even if he was a big man who needed a guard to get him the ball, Kareem was a pure scorer because of this unstoppable move.
His longevity and mechanics speak volumes: when no other move works, the skyhook does. No need to dunk in traffic, elevate, rotate shoulder, release apex arc. Pure craft, and we will never see anything like it ever again. We won't have many bigs in this ranking, but we have to put Kareem in the top 20.
16. Larry Bird
Career Total: 21,791 Points
Career Average: 24.3 PPG
Consecutive 30+ PPG Seasons: 0
Scoring Titles: 0
Larry Bird was the anti-showman: subtle footwork, jumper over your close-out, and passing you didn't know you wanted were his tools. He baited defenders into helping, then punished them with head-turners or passes. Essentially, before Luka Doncic, there was Larry Bird.
His pure scorer identity lay in mind games, cold-blooded execution on toast evenings, and always finding that edge. High IQ, higher pain threshold, and highest competitiveness. In terms of pure shooters, there aren't five players better than Larry Legend either.
15. Jerry West
Career Total: 25,192 Points
Career Average: 27.0 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 2 (1965, 1966)
Scoring Titles: 1 (1970)
Jerry 'Mr. Clutch' West was scoring poetry. A master of footwork, subtle pivots, and mid-range precision, he delivered 27.0 PPG without splashy dunks or theatrics. His silhouette even became the NBA logo, a tribute to his smooth scoring style.
Game-winner after game-winner, West owned late-clock situations. His blend of strength, craft, and imagination, solo runs in the face of double teams, encapsulates what pure scoring truly means. The late and great legend never had a weakness in his game and is truly one of the most underrated players ever.
14. George Gervin
Career Total: 26,595 Points
Career Average: 25.1 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 0
Scoring Titles: 4 (1978, 1979, 1980, 1982)
George 'Iceman' Gervin played scorching hot without breaking a sweat. His signature finger roll was artistry in motion: feathery touch over defenders that felt effortless, yet devastatingly efficient. In '82, he dropped 32.3 PPG on 50.0% FG and 86.4% FT splits with no athleticism-show required.
His demeanor mirrored his game: calm, cool, and absolutely lethal. Gervin rewrote what a scorer could be: quiet, efficient, and consistently overlooked, a true definition of offensive purity. Gervin was the first "Kevin Durant-like" star that the NBA saw.
13. Oscar Robertson
Career Total: 26,710 Points
Career Average: 25.7 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 2 (1961-1962), 4 (1964-1967)
Scoring Titles: 1 (1968)
The 'Big O' wasn't just a triple-double pioneer; he was a scoring dynamo who was completely unstoppable. In the pre-three era, Oscar Robertson averaged over 25 PPG with ease while dishing dimes and crashing the glass. He had two stints of consecutive seasons dropping at least 30 PPG, and won a scoring title without even having to crack 30.
Though his legend thrives on all-around brilliance, his pure scoring? Robertson towered above. His ability to mix fadeaways, finishes, and threes (late career) made him an offensive juggernaut. If Oscar played today, you would see a different type of athlete who combines Russell Westbrook with Kyrie Irving.
12. Tracy McGrady
Career Total: 18,381 Points
Career Average: 19.6 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 0
Scoring Titles: 2 (2003, 2004)
Tracy McGrady's peak was the definition of smooth dominance. In 2002-03, at just 23, he exploded for 32.1 points per game, topping the league with a free-flowing blend of athleticism and shotmaking. His follow-up season didn't disappoint; he still averaged 28 points, securing back-to-back scoring titles.
With 206 career 30-point games, he had an elite scoring arsenal: off-the-dribble mid-risers, step-back threes, and aggressive drives; his highlight reel felt like poetry in motion. His signature performances are the stuff of legend: 62 points against Washington, 50 in three quarters, and a 41-point night after sleeping in until tipoff, earning the moniker "The Big Sleep".
11. Hakeem Olajuwon
Career Total: 26,946 Points
Career Average: 21.8 PPG
Consecutive Seasons of 30+ PPG: 0
Scoring Titles: 0
Hakeem Olajuwon carved defenders with footwork you don't teach in clinic videos. The Dream Shake, a pivot into space, fakes that froze defenders, made him one of the most beautiful scorers ever. Only the second big man to appear on the list, Hakeem was completely unstoppable that even a prime Shaquille O'Neal couldn't handle him.
The Nigerian superstar didn't need brute force; he used finesse. For a big man, his craft, turning, spinning, shooting with arc and touch, was pure artistry, redefining frontcourt scoring. There is no all-time offense list without including one of the top-5 centers ever.
10. Elgin Baylor
Career Total: 23,149 Points
Career Average: 27.4 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 3 (1961-1963)
Scoring Titles: 0
Elgin Baylor brought aerial innovation to scoring. He launched acrobatic drives and reverse layups years before anyone else dared. Averaging 27.4 PPG in a rugged era, he held his own with grace, and very few players can touch him when it comes to getting buckets.
He stretched the imagination of offensive creation. His style, elegant, innovative, boundary-pushing, set the tone for future scorers who saw 'normal' as a concept to be redefined. Baylor played in the 1960s so he is often forgotten, but he makes the list regardless.
9. Paul Pierce
Career Total: 26,397 Points
Career Average: 19.7 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 0
Scoring Titles: 0
'The Truth' wasn't just a nickname; it was a scoring comfort in chaos. Paul Pierce thrived as a midrange assassin and killer in isolation. He locked in, pick-and-pop, step-back Js, and crafty finishes. It wasn't always beautiful, but it was effective.
His scoring was also subtle magic. In every clutch moment, he had that shrug-off defender, feel-for-space, pull-the-trigger mentality. Very few players possessed the poise that Pierce brought every night, and even if he toots his own horn after retirement, we can't deny his offensive pureness.
8. Karl Malone
Career Total: 36,928 Points
Career Average: 25.0 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 0
Scoring Titles: 0
Karl Malone was the ultimate power scorer in the post; it wasn't finesse, it was dominance. Known as 'The Mailman' because he always delivered, he bullied defenders with physicality and polished footwork. He even sustained 24.7 PPG in the playoffs, a testament to a big man who didn't regress on the biggest stage.
He had an iron-clad mid-range jumper, backed by unstoppable rolls to the rim off pick-and-rolls with Stockton. He scored over 36,000 career points, behind only LeBron and Kareem, with consistency that lasted nearly two decades. Pure scoring"? No question, it was raw, efficient, power-driven bucket mastering.
7. Dirk Nowitzki
Career Total: 31,560 Points
Career Average: 20.7 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 0
Scoring Titles: 0
Dirk Nowitzki shattered the mold of big men with his one-legged fadeaway, an unguardable masterpiece that mixed size, timing, and touch. He had one 50‑point game and 7 instances of 40+ in his career, and 40.7% of his games kicked off 20-29 PPG, pure scoring consistency.
He averaged 20.7 PPG over 21 seasons, shifted from post-ups to catch-and-shoot threes, all while evolving as defenses tried in vain to stop him. His scoring fluidity, from deep to mid and close, redefined stretch bigs; pure scoring with innovation.
6. Kyrie Irving
Career Total: 18,433 Points
Career Average: 23.7 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 0
Scoring Titles: 0
Kyrie Irving's handle is patented, his finish is sublime, and that step-back three is irrevocably pure. Averaging almost 24 PPG on 47.4% FG and 39.4% 3P over his career, he combines wizardry with ruthless efficiency.
He picks defenders apart in isolation, whether it's crafty shifts off the dribble or floaters in traffic. Every move looks effortless until it lands. He creates his own shot better than most and executes at near-greenlight levels: elite-level pure scoring meets artistry.
5. Carmelo Anthony
Career Total: 28,289 Points
Career Average: 22.5 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 0
Scoring Titles: 1 (2013)
Carmelo Anthony's signature mid-range game is size-meets-touch brilliance. He dominated with isolation moves, triple-threat jab-step into step-back three, punishing mismatches across multiple era transitions.
He managed 28,289 career points, and while criticized for efficiency, he was the definition of pure scorer: someone who could take over quarters on sheer volume and craft. His NCAA title matchup and NBA career both define a pure bucket artist unafraid to hunt.
4. Allen Iverson
Career Total: 24,368 Points
Career Average: 26.7 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 2 (2001-2002), 2 (2005-2006)
Scoring Titles: 4 (1999, 2001, 2002, 2005)
Allen Iverson was in attack mode constantly, from step-back 3s to fearless drives into the paint, six-foot holes and all. He played bigger than his frame and left defenders bruised on transitions. There will likely never be another little guard as dominant as Iverson was offensively.
He attacked every possession like it was life or death. He wasn't efficient, but he forced defenses to collapse and opened everything else for teammates, and that's pure scoring influence. You can argue for other players ranked behind him, but we won't be hearing it because four scoring titles shut down the argument.
3. Kevin Durant
Career Total: 30,571 Points
Career Average: 27.2 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 0
Scoring Titles: 4 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2014)
At 7 feet tall with a point guard's handle, Kevin Durant is the perfect offensive weapon. He shoots off the bounce, off the catch, step-back, fadeaway, it's all seamless. He took what George Gervin was, except he added a top-10 three-point shot we have ever seen, and even better efficiency from the free-throw line.
There's no counter. He combines efficiency and volume with a size unmatched in NBA history: clear space with a dribble, elevates over anyone. Pure scoring, apex version. The only reason he isn't ranked first is that he lacked the true killer offensive instinct of the two players placed ahead of him.
2. Kobe Bryant
Career Total: 33,643 Points
Career Average: 25.0 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 2 (2006, 2007)
Scoring Titles: 2 (2006, 2007)
If you weren't expecting Kobe Bryant to appear, you need to work on your basketball knowledge. He was footwork personified. He'd bake you with jab‑steps, isolate on switches, then erase defenders with deadly fadeaways or relentless drives.
But what cements him as a pure scorer is the Mamba attitude: he demanded the last shot every time. Every single one. That obsession translated to legendary performances (like 81 points), built on craft, courage, and ice water in the veins. Only one player was a better pure scorer than Kobe, and even that can be argued by some.
1. Michael Jordan
Career Total: 32,292 Points
Career Average: 30.1 PPG
Consecutive Seasons with 30+ PPG: 7 (1987-1993)
Scoring Titles: 10 (1987–1993, 1996–1998)
Michael Jordan is the prototype of pure scoring: lethal in mid-air, mid-range, inside, outside - period. No move was unscripted; every dribble, hesitation, and fadeaway was trained to perfection. Is there any doubt as to why he is the undisputed GOAT?
Jordan didn't just lead in points, he dominated with consistency: 8 seasons over 30 PPG, 562 career 30-point games, 33.45 PPG in playoffs, all while brutalizing whoever stood in front of him. That relentless instinct, aggressor mentality paired with precision, is why Jordan is undisputed at #1.This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Jul 10, 2025, where it first appeared.