NBA All-Time stats: Leaders by category

In this era of NBA, records are being made and broken day-in and day-out. But these records have taken perseverance, consistency and dedication of years to be built and broken.

Players playing at different positions have different roles and responsibilities to carry out. The players who honed these positions and the roles that came with it stand at the top of the stats sheets and are definitely greatest among the players who have stepped on the NBA courts.

Let us take a look at the all-time stats leaders in different categories.

Blocks

#1 Hakeem Olajuwon (3,830 blocks)

Among the big men who played in the NBA, Hakeem Olajuwon is considered one of the best of his era. He was highly skilled at both the defensive and offensive ends. Standing 7-feet tall he was one big man to fear.

He played in the NBA for 18 years, from 1984 to 2002, for Houston Rockets(1984-2001) and Toronto Raptors(2001-2002). During his stint with Houston, he led them to back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995. In 1994, he became the only player in the NBA to win MVP, Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.

His combination of swiftness and strength made him made a nightmare for opponent team. His shot-blocking and stealing abilities made him the only player in the NBA to record more than 200 blocks and 200 steals in a single season. He is also the only center to rank among top-10 in all-time steal stats.

He is one of the four players to record a quadruple-double. He did it twice in the same year (1990). Olajuwon was an unusually skilled low post player with an arsenal of fake moves and scoring abilities. His signature fake and score move "Dream Shake" is still favorite in the NBA and is recreated by number of players.

Olajuwon played 1238 games in his career and averaged 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.09 blocks per game. Named among top 50 players to ever play in the NBA, Hakeem Olajuwon's record for 3830 blocks is something that no one in near to and probably no one ever will.

Other players in the all-time blocks list are

#2 Dikembe Mutombo (3,289 blocks)

#3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (3,189 blocks)

#4 Mark Eaton (3,064 blocks)

#5 Tim Duncan (3,020 blocks)

Steals and Assists

#1 John Stockton (3,265 steals and 15,806 assists)

John Stockton is the player who in all terms is a justification of point guard position in the game of basketball. His 19 years career in the NBA is a testimony to his excellence in skills and consistency with which he served the only team he played for, Utah Jazz. John Stockton is a career leader in not one but two categories, Steals and Assists.

He played 1504 games in his career and averaged 13.1 points at 51.5 field goal percentage, 10.5 assists and 2.2 steals. He was also a good 3-point shooter and shot at 38.4% throughout his career. He is 41st on the all-time NBA scoring list with 19,711 career points. For a player like Stockton, it wasn't until his 39th year of age and 17 year in the NBA, that he recorded his first triple-double.

There is no active player in the NBA who is even in the top 10 of this list. Chris Paul is at 12th position (2,054 steals) and LeBron James is at 16th position (1,903 steals).

Other players in the all-time steals leaders list are:

#2 Jason Kidd (2,684 steals)

#3 Michael Jordan (2,514 steals)

#4 Gary Payton (2,445 steals)

#5 Maurice Cheeks (2,310 steals)

Rebounds

#1 Wilt Chamberlain (23,924 rebounds)

Wilt Chamberlain after his 100 points performance against Knicks

Every NBA fan knows Wilt Chamberlain for his historic night in 1962 against the New York Knicks. Something one can only dream of ever achieving, Wilt scored a "once in a lifetime" 100 points.

Wilt holds numerous records in the NBA for scoring, rebounding and other categories. He is an all-time leader with 23,924 rebounds in the category. Wilt won the NBA Championship twice, Season MVP 4 times and made an appearance to the All-Star game 13 times.

He is the only player in history to average 30 points and 20 rebounds in a season. He achieved this feat seven times in his career. He is regarded as one of the most dominant players in the NBA who excelled in scoring and rebounding.

Other notable players in the all-time Rebounds leaders list are also legendary.

#2 Bill Russell (21,620 rebounds)

#3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (17,440 rebounds)

#4 Elvin Hayes (16,279 rebounds)

#5 Moses Malone (16,212 rebounds)

Points

#1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,3872 points)

Kareem was unstoppable when it came to low post scoring. 7-feet-2-inch tall but slender, Kareem played 20 years in the NBA and showed extreme durability and consistence. His signature "Sky Hook" was so impossible to defend and accurate that it was his favorite weapon in the arsenal of moves and has helped him and his team in the clutch-est of moments.

Kareem played 1,560 games in which he scored 38,387 points. He hung his kicks in 1989 but his feat stands tall even after all these years and no one has been able to reach there. Kareem was a six-time NBA MVP, a record 19-time All-Star and an 11-time All-Defensive Team member.

He remains the all-time leader in points scored and career wins. He is ranked third all-time in both rebounds and blocked shots. Kareem was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 for his unparalleled career.

LeBron James (31,832 points) who is currently at the 5th spot on this list, is the closest among active players in the NBA to Kareem's points.

Other players on the All-time scoring list

#2 Karl Malone (36,928 points)

#3 Kobe Bryant (33,643 points)

#4 Michael Jordan (32,292 points)

#5 LeBron James (31,832 points)

Edited by Abhinav Munshi