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The NBA is the home of the most versatile offensive players the basketball world has ever seen, with the likes of James Harden and Stephen Curry among the elite scorers of this generation.
While everyone knows of the offensive prowess of legendary players such as Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain, few are as familiar with the best scorers outside of the 20th century.
The NBA’s best offensive players since the turn of the century
From pure shooters to the most unstoppable inside-outside scorers, the greatest offensive players in the NBA are masters at making baskets. What matters is not how they do it, but that they can put points on the board in bunches.
On that note, here's our list of the NBA’s top ten offensive players in the 21st century:
#10 Tracy McGrady
Career scoring average: 19.6 points per game
Though his career scoring average isn’t as impressive as the others on the list, Tracy McGrady led the NBA in points per game two times in his career. He scored 50 or more points four times, and recorded a career-high 62 points against the Washington Wizards on March 10, 2004.
McGrady had a silky smooth touch from the outside. With his long arms and 6' 8" physique, the Hall of Famer could shoot over almost any player on the court.
His most famous scoring exploit was undoubtedly when he scored 13 points in 33 seconds on Dec. 9, 2004. On that night against the San Antonio Spurs, T-Mac brought the Orlando Magic back from being down ten points with a minute to play. With under 40 seconds remaining, McGrady drained one 3-pointer after another, giving the Magic an 81-80 win in a dazzling display of uncanny shooting from the deep that has never been seen in the NBA before or since then.
#9 Russell Westbrook
Career scoring average: 23.2 points per game
Russell Westbrook is a unique offensive weapon. Though he’s not the shooter that most players on this list are, he has led the NBA in scoring average twice in his career, including a career-best 31.6 points per game in the 2016-17 campaign.
Six times in his NBA career, Westbrook has scored at least 50 points in a game, including his all-time best of 58 points set on Mar 7, 2017 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
But his scoring ability is just one aspect of his offensive arsenal. Westbrook is also one of the best passers in the game, leading the league in assists in three of the last four NBA seasons, and has averaged more than 20 points a game for 11 straight years.
#8 Carmelo Anthony
Career scoring average: 23 points per game
Carmelo Anthony owns one of the sweetest releases in the game’s history, and he has used that to his advantage against his opponents throughout his career.
Melo can beat his opponent inside and out, using a wide array of moves to get himself free for a shot. He has a career-high 62 points, which he set on January 24, 2014 against the Charlotte Bobcats.
The NBA’s tenth-leading scorer of all time with 27,370 points, Carmelo Anthony led the league in scoring once, averaging 28.7 points per game in 2012-13. If he averages 15 points a game next season, playing in all 82 games, Anthony could overtake Moses Malone and Shaquille O’Neal, he'll move to eighth in the league's all-time scoring charts.
#7 Damian Lillard
Career scoring average: 24.7 points per game
One of the greatest scoring point guards in the history of the NBA, Damian Lillard has scored 50 or more points 14 times in his nine-year career. In three of those 14 occasions, the Portland Trail Blazers guard recorded at least 60 points. He’s just the sixth player in league history to record that many points three times in their career.
Lillard, like Stephen Curry, can shoot the basketball from up to half court, as he has extended his range further and further away from the three-point line. Speaking of three-pointers, Dame has made at least 200 of them seven times in his career, and set the bar higher for himself with a career-best 275 threes in 67 games last season.
With an ever-expanding offensive arsenal, Lillard has become a dangerous scorer, who averaged 30 points a game two seasons ago. He is probably looking to win his first NBA scoring title, which could happen next season.
#6 LeBron James
Career scoring average: 27 points per game
LeBron James is one of the NBA’s most consistent scorers on a nightly basis. Not too many probably know that the four-time MVP once led the league in scoring and averaged over 30 points a night twice in his career, with a high of 31.4.
He is the only player in league history to score at least 25 points per game for 17 straight seasons. The top five players on this list can’t even match that, and none come close either.
James is already the third-highest career scorer all-time, with 35,367 points. He could supplant Karl Malone for second place next season, and take the scoring crown from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a year later.
#5 Kevin Durant
Career scoring average: 27 points per game
Kevin Durant has led the league in scoring four times in his career, tying George Gervin and Allen Iverson for third-most in NBA history. The Slim Reaper is fifth all time in career scoring average, with 27.02 points per game (LeBron James has a 27 points-per-game average).
As impressive as his regular-season resume is, Durant elevates his game further in the postseason, with an average of 29.5 points an outing. In four of his ten NBA playoff appearances, he made more than 50% of his shots the entire postseason. That’s outstanding for someone who is primarily a jump shooter.
With a career-high of 54 points, Durant has scored 50 or more points seven times in his ten years in the NBA.
#4 Stephen Curry
Career scoring average: 24.2 points per game
Considered by many as the NBA’s greatest shooter of all time, Stephen Curry has a range that extends to half court, making him virtually unguardable. If it’s a three-point shooting record, then Curry probably owns it.
Curry is one of only two players to make at least 300 three-pointers in a season, and he has done it four times in his career. He was the first and still is the only player in NBA history to make at least 400 threes in a single campaign, with 402 during the 2015-16 season.
Recently, the Baby-Faced Assassin set an NBA record for three-pointers made in a calendar month, with 85, which he registered last April. In his 12 years in the league, Curry has been the scoring champion twice, and he recorded a career-high 32 points-per-game average last season.
#3 Allen Iverson
Career scoring average: 26.7 points per game
The diminutive, feisty Allen Iverson is an elite NBA scoring marvel who can find seams in defenses and squeeze himself into the gaps to score baskets. Four times in his career, the 6' 0" Iverson has averaged more than 30 points per game, leading the NBA in scoring four times as well.
Iverson has scored 50 or more points on 14 occasions, including a career-high point haul of 60, which he recorded against the Orlando Magic on February 12, 2005.
Moreover, Iverson’s 29.7 points per game career average in the playoffs is second only to Michael Jordan in NBA history.
#2 James Harden
Career scoring average: 24.6 points per game
James Harden knows almost every trick in the book when it comes to the offensive end of the floor. From his signature step-back jumpers to driving and getting to the line, Harden can score from almost every area on the court.
Not only can he score in bunches, but he’s also an excellent assist man, making him a dual-threat on every offensive possession.
That was made evident when he recorded the only 60-point triple-double in NBA history on January 30, 2018 when he registered 60 points, 11 assists and ten rebounds against the Orlando Magic.
A three-time scoring champion, the Beard averaged more than 30 points per game for three straight seasons, with a high of 36.1 in 2018-19. Harden has amassed a total of 22,045 points in his career so far, which is good enough for 38th place in NBA history.
#1 Kobe Bryant
Career scoring average: 25 points per game
One of the greatest offensive weapons of all time, Kobe Bryant was a scoring machine par excellence. When he was on his game, he was as unstoppable as any player in NBA history.
Among his many offensive exploits include the following:
- 81 points on January 22, 2006, the second-highest individual score in NBA history.
- 62 points in just three quarters of play on December 20, 2005.
- Nine straight 40-point games from February 6-23, 2003, tying Michael Jordan for the fourth-longest in NBA history.
- 33,643 career points, fourth-highest all time.
During a 13-year career, Bryant never averaged less than 24 points per game, and in back-to-back NBA seasons averaged more than 30 points a night. His career-high scoring average of 35.4 points per game came during the 2005-06 season, which is the second-highest on this list.
And we haven’t even discussed his offensive exploits in the clutch, too. Needless to say, when it comes to scoring, Bryant is the NBA’s top offensive player of the 21st century.
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