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All-time leading scorers in NBA Playoff history

LeBron James

Two active NBA stars feature in the top ten leading scorers in playoff history, with one setting the pace on top...

With the 2023 NBA playoffs in full swing, we thought it would be a good idea to look at the top scorers in post-season history.

Current stars Klay Thompson, James Harden, Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard miss out on the top 10 but are in the top 50.

While both Curry and Harden are well placed to break into the top 10, only two current players are in there, with both featuring in the 2023 playoffs.

Statistics are as of May 19, 2023.

10) Tony Parker - 4,045 points

Parker spent 17 years with the San Antonio Spurs and reached the playoffs every single season, winning four championships along the way.
The French point guard scored over 4,000 points in 226 post-season encounters and is the only player in the top 20 to shoot less than 1,000 free throws in the playoffs.
Parker is 91 points ahead of Dwyane Wade in 11th.

9) Jerry West - 4,457 points

Another one-team man (because Parker's time in Charlotte didn't happen - trust me), West spent 14 years as a Los Angeles Laker and played his entire career before the integration of the three-point line.
West - who is the man dribbling on the NBA logo - scored 4,457 points in 153 playoff games across 13 seasons.

8) Karl Malone - 4,761 points

In 19 seasons playing post-season basketball, Malone dominated any match-up he faced but was unable to get that all important ring.
Playing for the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers, the two-time league MVP scored 4,761 points in 193 appearances.

7) Kevin Durant - 4,878 points*

KD is a scoring machine. He is arguably the best pure scorer of this generation and certainly has the clutch gene running through his veins. He is the first of two current NBA players on this list, having scored 4,878 points and counting in 12 post-season campaigns.

Durant has the sixth-most three-pointers made in playoff history, averaging 35.5% from deep.

6) Tim Duncan - 5,172 points

From one power forward to another, Duncan is one of the most consistent and reliable players to ever play the sport.
The two-time MVP and five-time champion is the first player on this list with at least 5k points, scoring 5,172, all for the Spurs.

5) Shaquille O'Neal - 5,250 points

Shaq is the most dominant NBA player of all time. 'Diesel' guided the Orlando Magic to their first playoffs as well as their first Finals.
O'Neal won three of his titles with the Lakers and one with the Miami Heat, scoring 5,250 playoff points in 216 games across 17 seasons.

4) Kobe Bryant - 5,640 points

Bryant and Shaq had a feud that was sometimes friendly and sometimes fierce, but he got the last laugh by claiming five rings to his former teammate's four.
Kobe took the second-most number of shots in playoff history, making 2,014 of his 4,499 field goals attempted. In total, he scored 5,640 points in 220 games.

3) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 5,762 points

The leading scorer in NBA regular season history, Abdul-Jabbar scored over 38,000 points on top of his 5,762 in the playoffs.
The greatest center of all time won six championships, including the first in the Milwaukee Bucks' history. Playing in 18 playoff campaigns, Kareem played 237 games and made 2,356 of his 4,422 shots.

2) Michael Jordan - 5,987 points

Jordan has the third-least playoff games played out of everyone in the top 10, has six rings to his name and yet is second on this list.

The greatest player of all time (according to Planet Sport anyway), MJ made all of his playoff appearances with the Chicago Bulls and also holds the record for the most points scored in a single playoff game (63).

In 179 appearances across 13 seasons, Jordan was 13 points off scoring 6k in the post-season.

1) LeBron James - 7,960 points*

Way out in front, LeBron is the highest scorer in NBA playoffs history.
James passed Jordan during the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals, doing so in his 212th game - 19 years after Jordan scored his 5,987th point.
He has soared into a convincing lead on his way to winning four titles - most recently with the Lakers in the 2020 Orlando Bubble.

The former Cleveland Cavaliers small forward is approaching 8,000 playoff points in 279 games across 16 different seasons so far.

READ MORE: Active NBA players with the most Playoff wins

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