LeBron James has made history by becoming the first basketball player to score 50,000 career points.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar previously held the NBA’s all-time field goals record, scoring 15,837 field goals during his career from 1969 to 1989. He played for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. However, James has now surpassed all historical records, solidifying his place as the highest-scoring player in basketball history.
As of March 2025, LeBron James has scored 41,837 points in the NBA, making him the league’s all-time leading scorer in both regular-season and playoff history. His overall professional career total now stands at 50,260 points, considering all national league and cup games, national team games, international club competitions, and other professional matches. Of this total, 50,213 points were scored in official games, with the remaining 47 points coming from a pre-season match against international teams.
LeBron James surpassed Oscar Schmidt’s long-standing record of 49,737 official career points on April 2, 2024. Schmidt, a Brazilian basketball legend, had previously held the all-time scoring record, though some of his exhibition game points were not included in the official count.
Top Basketball Scorers by Total Professional Career Points
The following is a list of basketball players with the highest total career points, including all professional competitions (excluding high school and college games):
LeBron James (USA) – 50,260 points (50,213 official points)
Oscar Schmidt (Brazil) – 49,737 points (excluding 236 exhibition points)
Highest Scorers in Other Domestic Leagues
Several players have set scoring records in their respective domestic leagues outside the NBA:
Hervé Dubuisson (France) – 19,013 points (French league)
Andrew Gaze (Australia) – 18,908 points (NBL)
Ramon Fernandez (Philippines) – 18,996 points (PBA)
Wilfredo Ruiz (Uruguay) – 18,512 points (Uruguayan Championship)
Héctor Campana (Argentina) – 17,359 points (Argentinian league)
George Torres (Puerto Rico) – 15,863 points (Puerto Rican league)
Louie Dampier (USA) – 13,276 points (ABA)
Antonello Riva (Italy) – 14,397 points (Serie A)
Vinko Jelovac (Yugoslavia) – 7,351 points (Yugoslav First Federal League)
Alberto Herreros (Spain) – 9,759 points (Liga ACB)
Edward Jurkiewicz (Poland) – 23,726 points (Polish Premier Championship)
Eugeniusz Kijewski (Poland) – 10,185 points (Polish Premier League)
Jiří Zídek Sr. (Czech Republic) – 10,838 points (Czechoslovak Championship)
Zhu Fangyu (China) – 11,165 points (Chinese Basketball Association)
Willy Steveniers (Belgium) – 11,870 points (Belgian league)
Mike Jackel (Germany) – 10,873 points (Germany’s league)
Doron Jamchi (Israel) – 9,611 points (Israel’s league)
Nick Galis (Greece) – 12,864 points (HBF Greek Championship)
LeBron James’ achievement marks an unparalleled milestone in basketball history, further solidifying his legacy as one of the greatest players the sport has ever seen.
