Top 5 active NBA scoring leaders of all time as of 2023 as LeBron James extends reign at #1

Modified Feb 08, 2023 06:22 GMT

Oklahoma City Thunder v Los Angeles Lakers — Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers

On Tuesday night, LeBron James finally overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time scoring record, making history in the process.

The LA Lakers and OKC Thunder faced off in a 133-130 loss for the Lakers. James now holds the record with a total of 38,390 points after scoring 38 points to break the previous mark. For a player who has always been regarded as a pass-first guy, it is indeed a tremendous moment.

Now that LeBron James has shaken up the rankings in the all-time scoring, one might wonder which active players are trailing James. Here's a look at the top five:

#1 LeBron James (38,390 points)

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers

For 20 years, LeBron James has dominated the NBA. No matter what team he has played for, James always brought greatness to each squad.

To make things better, James has won a championship for every franchise he's been on: one with the Cleveland Cavaliers, two with the Miami Heat, and one with the LA Lakers.

Now that James leads the NBA with 38,390 career points and counting, maybe it's time for him to chase another record or put up one of his own.

#2 Kevin Durant (26,684 points)

Kevin Durant is known to be one of the deadliest scorers in league history. Now with 26,684 career points, Durant is 1,975 points away from breaking into the top ten in the all-time scoring leaderboard.

Unfortunately, KD has been injured for quite some time this year. That means making his way to the top ten could take longer than expected.

#3 James Harden (24,233 points)

James Harden is now playing in his 14th season and has shifted his style of play throughout his career.

Harden went from being one of the best sixth-man players in the league to a league MVP to supporting the next generation of superstars in Joel Embiid as the Philadelphia 76ers' primary point guard.

If "The Beard" constantly dropped 30 points per game after his MVP-caliber seasons, Harden might've surpassed Kevin Durant on this list.

#4 Russell Westbrook (24,098 points)

Say what you want about Russell Westbrook, but he's undeniably a gifted player in his own right.

Westbrook is the third player amongst the OG OKC Thunder's big three with Durant and Harden to make it to this list. His offensive prowess might not be the same as before, but it's safe to say that prime Russ was a beast, which is why he has scored more than 24,000 points.

#5 Chris Paul (21,404 points)

For someone nicknamed "Point God", Chris Paul surprisingly cracked over 20,000 points.

In fact, he still leads Steph Curry's total career points by a few hundred. Now that his playing days are almost over, it doesn't seem like one of LeBron James' best friends will hit the 25K mark, especially now that his offensive prowess is slowly depleting.