The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional men's basketball league, consisting of 30 teams in North America (29 in the United States and one in Canada). The NBA was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[1] It adopted the name National Basketball Association at the start of the 1949–50 season when it merged with the National Basketball League (NBL).[1] The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball, which is recognized by FIBA (a French acronym for "International Basketball Federation") as the National Governing Body (NGB) for basketball in the country.[2] The league is considered to be one of the four major professional sports leagues of North America.[3] There have been 15 defunct franchises in NBA history. In basketball, points are the sum of the score accumulated through free throw or field goal.[4] The NBA introduced three-point field goals in the 1979–80 season as a bonus for field goals made from a longer distance.[5] [6] Karl Malone scored 36,374 points with the Utah Jazz, the most points by a player for a single franchise.[7] Kobe Bryant leads the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring the most points in the NBA while playing for only one team in an entire career.[8] Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks is second behind Bryant in scoring while playing for only one team. Oscar Robertson is the leading scorer for the Sacramento Kings franchise, playing all of his games when they were known as the Cincinnati Royals.[9] Michael Jordan scored 5,987 points in the playoffs with the Chicago Bulls, the most playoff points by a player for a single franchise.
| ^ | Active NBA player | |
| Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | ||
| † | Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration[10] | |
| § | 1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2024[11] --> | |
| ‡ | Franchise with scoring leader on its current roster |
Statistics accurate as of the 2023–24 NBA season.
| Franchise[12] | Player | Points | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Hawks[13] | 23,292 | |||
| Boston Celtics | 26,395 | |||
| Brooklyn Nets[14] | ^ | 10,444 | ||
| Charlotte Hornets[15] | † | 12,009 | ||
| Chicago Bulls | 29,277 | |||
| Cleveland Cavaliers | ^ | 23,119 | ||
| Dallas Mavericks | 31,560 | |||
| Denver Nuggets | 21,645 | |||
| Detroit Pistons[16] | 18,822 | |||
| Golden State Warriors‡[17] | ^ | < | --***DO NOT UPDATE*** w/o also updating ALL active players and the date in "Statistics accurate through" note above ***-->23,668 | |
| Houston Rockets[18] | 26,511 | |||
| Indiana Pacers | 25,279 | |||
| Los Angeles Clippers[19] | 12,735 | |||
| Los Angeles Lakers[20] | 33,643 | |||
| Memphis Grizzlies[21] | ^ | 11,733 | ||
| Miami Heat | 21,556 | |||
| Milwaukee Bucks‡ | ^ | < | --***DO NOT UPDATE*** w/o also updating ALL active players and the date in "Statistics accurate through" note above ***-->18,502 | |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 19,201 | |||
| New Orleans Pelicans[22] | ^ | 11,059 | ||
| New York Knicks | 23,665 | |||
| Oklahoma City Thunder[23] | ^ | 18,859 | ||
| Orlando Magic | † | 11,435 | ||
| Philadelphia 76ers[24] | 21,586 | |||
| Phoenix Suns | 15,666 | |||
| Portland Trail Blazers | ^ | 19,376 | ||
| Sacramento Kings[25] | 22,009 | |||
| San Antonio Spurs | 26,496 | |||
| Toronto Raptors | ^ | 13,296 | ||
| Utah Jazz[26] | 36,374 | |||
| Washington Wizards[27] | 15,551 |
Statistics accurate as of May 22, 2024.
| Franchise[28] | Player | Points | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Hawks[29] | 2,240 | |||
| Boston Celtics | 3,897 | |||
| Brooklyn Nets[30] | 1,308 | |||
| Charlotte Hornets[31] | 446 | |||
| Chicago Bulls | 5,987 | |||
| Cleveland Cavaliers | ^ | 4,573 | ||
| Dallas Mavericks | 3,663 | |||
| Denver Nuggets‡ | ^ | 2,213 | ||
| Detroit Pistons[32] | 2,467 | |||
| Golden State Warriors‡[33] | ^ | 3,966 | ||
| Houston Rockets[34] | 3,727 | |||
| Indiana Pacers | 2,972 | |||
| Los Angeles Clippers[35] | ^ | 1,125 | ||
| Los Angeles Lakers[36] | 5,640 | |||
| Memphis Grizzlies[37] | 1,058 | |||
| Miami Heat | 3,864 | |||
| Milwaukee Bucks‡ | ^ | 2,105 | ||
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 1,049 | |||
| New Orleans Pelicans[38] | ^ | 504 | ||
| New York Knicks | 2,787 | |||
| Oklahoma City Thunder[39] | ^ | 2,620 | ||
| Orlando Magic | † | 1,133 | ||
| Philadelphia 76ers[40] | 3,088 | |||
| Phoenix Suns | 2,026 | |||
| Portland Trail Blazers | 2,015 | |||
| Sacramento Kings[41] | 1,159 | |||
| San Antonio Spurs | 5,172 | |||
| Toronto Raptors | ^ | 1,435 | ||
| Utah Jazz[42] | 4,519 | |||
| Washington Wizards[43] | 1,997 |