Top 10 NBA points per game leaders of all-time

Points per game is the average number of points scored by a player per game played. In this presentation, we will take a look at the top ten players who have all-time high PPG scored in the NBA.

There are many great scorers in the long history of the National Basketball Association and most players you will see on the list are legends and are considered to be the finest players of all time. So without further ado, let's take a look at the list.

The stats and figures shown in this article are obtained from various sources like NBA.com(the official NBA website), Basketball Reference and ESPN.

#10 Oscar Robertson

NBA Awards Show 2018 - Backstage Photo Room

The 1971 NBA Champion and hall of famer, Oscar Robertson is regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history. He attended Crispus Attucks High School and completed college from the University of Cincinnati, where he had an incredible scoring average of 33.8 points per game and won the national scoring title three times.

Oscar Robertson was selected in the 1960 NBA Draft by the Cincinnati Royals as a territorial pick. In his rookie season, he averaged 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists and won the NBA Rookie of the year award. He became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season, with 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists in 1961-62 NBA season.

Oscar, also known as 'The Big O' was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1970-71 season and was a key player on the team that brought the Bucks their only NBA title. He stayed with the Bucks until his retirement in 1974. Robertson was a great all round player, who can play as a scorer and as a playmaker. Taking up tenth spot with 25.68 points scored per game, he scored 26,710 points in 1040 games played.

#9 George Gervin

George Gervin is widely regarded as one of the greatest shooting guards in the NBA history. Born and raised in Detroit, he attended Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in Detroit and completed college from Eastern Michigan University., where he averaged 29.5 points per game as a sophomore.

Gervin was selected as the 40th overall pick of the third round in the 1974 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns, but he opted to stay with the San Antonio Spurs, who played in the American Basketball Association(ABA). However, the Spurs later became the part of the NBA as a part of 1976 ABA-NBA merger.

Nicknamed "Iceman", Gervin was primarily known for his scoring talents and won the scoring title for three consecutive seasons (1978-80) and again in 1982 with the Spurs. He has an average of 26.18 points per game. Gervin scored 20,708 points in 791 games.

#8 Bob Pettit

Robert Lee Pettit Jr. played at power forward or center position, he attended Baton Rouge High school and led them to their first state championship in over twenty years. After high school, he accepted a scholarship to play at Louisiana State University, where he averaged 27.8 points per game in three years.

Bob was selected as the second overall pick in the first round on 1954 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Hawks. In his debut season, he averaged 20.8 points, 13.8 rebounds per game and took home the NBA Rookie of the year award. He played 11 seasons and became NBA Champion in 1958 and also won the NBA MVP on two occasions.

Standing at 6 ft 9 in, Pettit was a dangerous scorer. He averaged 26.36 points per game in the NBA. Playing a total of 792 games and scoring 20,880 points. He was the first recipient of the NBA's most valuable player award, which he won in 1956. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.

#7 Allen Iverson

Despite his small stature(6ft), Allen Ezail Iverson was considered as a remarkable scorer. He played fourteen seasons in the NBA, playing at the shooting guard and point guard positions. Often considered as one of the most controversial players of all time, he was an incredible player on the court.

Allen also nicknamed 'The Answer' played college basketball at Georgetown where he scored 22.9 points per game.and also won the Big East Defensive player of the year award two times. In the 1996 NBA Draft, Iverson was selected as the first overall pick of the very first round by the Philadelphia 76ers and was named Rookie of the year, scoring 23.5 points,7.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Iverson won four scoring titles(1999,2001,2002,2005) and was selected as the 2001 NBA MVP(the shortest and lightest player to win the award). With a scoring average of 26.7 points per game, he scored 24,368 points in 914 games.

#6 Jerry West

New Orleans Pelicans v Golden State Warriors

Jerry West is the man who became the inspiration for the NBA logo(West's silhouette is incorporated into the NBA logo). He played at point guard and shooting guard positions and was a great scorer and playmaker.

Nicknamed 'The Clutch', West attended East Bank high school and later went to college at West Virginia University where he led them to NCAA Championship in 1959. He was equally strong on the offense as well as the defense. The current Executive board member of the Los Angeles Clippers was selected as the second overall pick of the first round in the 1960 NBA Draft by the Minneapolis Lakers (now Los Angeles Lakers), where he spent his entire playing career.

West won the scoring title in 1970 and later became the NBA Champion in 1972. He averaged 27.03 points per game and is sixth on the list, scoring 25,192 points in 932 games.

#5 LeBron James

LeBron James is often considered the best basketball player in the world and regarded by some as the greatest player of all time. He is a great player and leader(one of the two active players in the list).

Recently turned 34, but showing no signs of slowing down. James was drafted straight out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. He was selected as the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Touted as a future NBA star, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

LeBron won the NBA scoring title in 2008, he is a three-time NBA Champion and won the NBA MVP award four times. As of now, he is fifth on the list with an average of 27.16 points per game. He has scored 24,913 in 911 games and is currently playing with the Los Angeles Lakers.

#4 Kevin Durant

Considered to be a great NBA player because of his incredible scoring ability, one can argue that Kevin Durant is the NBA's current best scorer. Durant attended High school at National Christian Academy. He played one season of college basketball for the University of Texas before being selected as the second overall pick in the first round of 2007 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics(now Oklahoma City Thunder).

'The Slim Reaper' moved on to the Golden State Warriors, after spending nine seasons with the Thunder. He helped the Warriors win back-to-back Championships in 2017 and 2018. He is the youngest player in history to win an NBA scoring title at age of 21 years, 197 days. Durant has won the scoring title four times.

Kevin Durant edges past LeBron with an average of 27.18 points per game, so far he has played 569 games and scored 15,537 points and is a star player for the Warriors.

#3 Elgin Baylor

Elgin 'Rabbit' Baylor was an incredible scorer, accomplished playmaker and strong rebounder. He was known for his trademark hanging jumpshots and acrobatic moves, playing at the Small forward position.

Elgin attended high school at Spingarn and went to college at Seattle University. He was drafted by the Minneapolis Lakers(Los Angeles Lakers) as the first overall pick of the first round of the 1958 NBA Draft and was selected as NBA Rookie of the Year. He spent fourteen seasons in the NBA playing for the Lakers before retiring in 1971.

Baylor's longtime teammate Jerry West said in an interview, "He was one of the most spectacular shooters the game has ever known,"I hear people talking about forwards today and I haven't seen many that can compare with him."

The Rabbit is third on the list, averaging 27.36 points per game. Playing 846 games and scoring 23,149 points.

#2 Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain is regarded as one of the most dominant scorers in the NBA history. Known as the first and only player to score 100 points in a single NBA game, he was a two time NBA Champion(1967,1972) and was a four-time NBA MVP.

Chamberlain attended High school at Overbrook and went to college at the University of Kansas. He was selected as a territorial pick in the 1959 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia Warriors and won Rookie of the Year award. He holds numerous NBA records, which are nearly impossible to break.

Wilt Chamberlain won seven scoring titles, which is the second most of all time and has an incredible 30.07 points per game average with 31,419 points scored in 1045 games played. He also holds a record for most points scored in a single season with an average of 50.36 points per game.

#1 Michael Jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan is considered as the greatest basketball player of all time. He was the 3rd overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls (selected as the NBA Rookie of the Year). Jordan played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association. Jordan was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world and is also one of the most effectively marketed athletes.

MJ won the NBA Championship six times with the Bulls(was awarded finals MVP all six times) and was selected as the NBA MVP five times. Jordan at his best was an unstoppable force and destroyed any team with his offensive skills.

Scoring was fun for Jordan and also he won the NBA scoring title a whopping ten times, more than anyone else in the NBA. Michael Jordan tops the list with an average of 30.12 points per game(one of his many achievements). He played 1072 games and scored a whopping 32,292 points.

Edited by Abhinav Munshi