The Most Career Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals And Blocks Per Position

PG - Oscar Robertson - 26,710

This should come as no surprise because from 1960 to 1966, Robertson was the most dominant scoring guard in the league. Robertson averaged totals of 30.5, 30.8, 28.3, 31.4, 30.4, 31.3, and 30.5 points per game during that span. Eventually, those points have to add up.

SG - Kobe Bryant - 33,643

Despite leading all shooting guards in total points, Bryant only led the league in scoring one time. To be fair, Bryant had some stiff scoring competition in the modern-day league. Bryant’s longevity also helped as he played from 1996 to 2015, all with the Lakers. Bryant averaged over 30 points just two times in his career.

SF - LeBron James - 35,704

LeBron has led the league in scoring one time (2008) but has developed a strong streak of 20-point scoring seasons. In his career, he has never averaged less than 20 points per game. His lowest mark was 20.9 points per game, which he accumulated during his rookie season. Even now at the age of 36, LeBron is averaging over 25 points per game.

PF - Karl Malone - 36,928

The John Stockton and Karl Malone duo is the greatest non-winning championship duo in league history. It was also the greatest offensive combination we have ever seen. Malone rose to score the second-most, points in league history, all at the power forward position. One surprising fact is that Malone never led the league in scoring.

C - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 38,387

During his younger days, Kareem was the go-to scorer for the Bucks. In 1971 and 1972, Kareem led the league in scoring en route to making the Bucks a championship contender, winning their first title in 1971. Then, when he joined the Lakers, Magic Johnson and Kareem’all-time the all-time leader in points.

All-Time Rebounds Leaders Per Position

PG - Jason Kidd - 8,725

For his career, Kidd averaged 6.3 rebounds per game. When it came to his overall build, Kidd was a lot stronger than the average point guard. From 1999 to 2007, Kidd was a dominant rebounder as a guard. With the Suns, Kidd averaged totals of 6.8, 7.2, and 6.4. Then, he joined the Nets and averaged totals of 7.3, 6.3, 6.4, 7.4, 7.2, 8.2, and 8.1 for a partial season. In a time of strong rebounding centers, this is an impressive feat.

SG - Kobe Bryant - 7,047

The two names that might come to mind are James Harden and Russell Westbrook, but both are behind Kobe. Harden currently owns 4,975 rebounds, while Westbrook is labeled as a point guard, but he is making his way towards Kidd with 7,152 in his career. As for Bryant, he was not scared of anybody. Bryant consistently averaged around five rebounds a game to go with his large point totals.

SF - Elgin Baylor - 11,463

During his career-best rebounding season in 1960-1961, Baylor set a new NBA scoring record (since broken) when he scored 71 points and grabbed 25 rebounds. Along with his scoring, his rebounding was elite as well. Baylor averaged 34.8, 38.3, and 34.0 points per game from 1960-1961 to 1962-1963. We have seen some centers not accumulate 10,000 career rebounds.

PF - Tim Duncan - 15,091

Duncan ranks sixth on the all-time list and narrowly beats out Karl Malone, who has 14,968 career rebounds. Duncan is a former All-Defensive specialist that averaged double-digit rebound totals 13 consecutive seasons. Fundamentally speaking, he is known as the best power forward of all time.

C - Wilt Chamberlain - 23,924

At the time when Wilt played, the only stats kept were points, rebounds, and assists. Capping off the triple-threat, his 27.2 rebounds per game is an NBA record for a single season. It was one of 11 times that he led the league in rebounding. His career mark of 22.9 is also an NBA record. Naturally, Chamberlain owns the most rebounds of not just centers, but all NBA players. This is a record we likely will never see broken.

All-Time Assists Leaders Per Position

PG - John Stockton - 15,806

It should come as no surprise that Stockton also holds the NBA record for career assists with 15,0806. This assists average stands as the NBA record for one season. Stockton led the league in assists for nine consecutive seasons, but his best total came in the 1989-1990 season. He is also one of three players to log more than 1,000 assists in a season, a feat he accomplished seven times.

SG - Kobe Bryant - 6,306

While Bryant is most known for the high volume of shots he took, he also ranks the most among shooting guards in assist. His best season total was 6.0 per game in 2004-2005. Consistently throughout his career, Bryant averaged close to five assists per game. That stretch included 11 of his 20 seasons in the NBA.

SF - LeBron James - 9,782

In a year that saw his friend Kobe Bryant pass away tragically, James led the league in assists, but also led the Lakers to their first NBA championships in 2020. LeBron has done a lot of great things in his career but leading the league in assists at the age of 35 as a point-forward has to be one of the best. James played as the team’s primary ball-handler despite years of playing at small forward. Over time, his passing has been brilliant as he remains at the top of the position.

PF - Kevin Garnett - 5,445

When Garnett first entered the league, he was averaging assist totals that were close to point guards. Minnesota ran their offense directly through Garnett. In his 12 seasons in Minnesota, Garnett averaged over five assists per game six times. When he joined Boston, those numbers went down, but he had more talent around him.

C - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 5,660

In today’s game, we could see Nikola Jokic one day take over this total. Jokic owns 2,805 career assists, so he has a long way to go. With that said, he is only 26 years old and already close to halfway to his total. Give it another seven years and the Joker could reign supreme. Kareem played into his 40s, while standard centers in the 90s and 2000s were asked to rebound and shoot blocks, not so much pass.

All-Time Steals Leaders Per Position

PG - John Stockton - 3,265

Stockton finished his career as the all-time leader in steals. He is the only player in NBA history with over 3,000 career steals. The runner-up is Jason Kidd, but Stockton has almost more than 600 career steals. From 1986 to 1996, Stockton averaged 2.0 or more steals per game in all but one season. That also included 2.9 and 3.0 steals in 1990 and 1991.

SG - Michael Jordan - 2,514

From 1984 to 1995, Jordan was one of the best overall defensive players in the league. He might be the last shooting guard to play defense like this that we will see in our lifetime. During this span, Jordan averaged at least 2.0 steals or more in all but one season. That also included 3.2 in 1987-1988 where he won the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Jordan ranks third all-time with his steals count.

SF - Scottie Pippen - 2,307

Even though Michael Jordan was playing with the Bulls, Pippen was a defensive specialist. That carried over when Jordan retired in 1993. Pippen led the team in steals in 1994 but then averaged 2.9 for a second straight season in 1995, which led the league. LeBron owns 2.085 career steals, but Pippen should hold down this record unless LeBron plays into his 40s.

PF - Karl Malone - 2,085

Malone is tied with LeBron James for the 11th most in NBA history in steals. Garnett finished close to Malone but was short by about 150 steals. During the 1990s, it was a defensive strong era that is nowhere close to today’s modern era. We will likely never see this record ever get broken as no active power forward ranks in the top-25 all-time.

C - Hakeem Olajuwon - 2,162

For a center, Olajuwon was one of the most dynamic players the league ever gave us fans. Olajuwon could score, rebound, and block, but he also finished with a respectable career average of 1.7 steals per game. For four straight years, Olajuwon once averaged at least 2.0 steals per game. Outside of Bill Russell, Olajuwon has a solid case as being the greatest defensive center ever.

All-Time Blocks Leaders Per Position

PG - Jason Kidd - 450

If John Wall was playing this year, he would likely have surpassed Kidd for the most blocks for a point guard. Currently, Wall owns 427 career blocks and has played in half the amount of games as Kidd. With that said, Kidd holds this mark for now in what is a low blocks total.

SG - Michael Jordan - 893

Jordan wasn’t just great at swiping the ball but also shot-blocking. His 1.6 blocks per game were a huge contributor to him winning Defensive Player of the Year in 1988. Jordan averaged 3.2 steals during this season too. At 6-foot-6, he was truly one of the most special defensive shooting guards we have ever seen.

SF - Andrei Kirilenko - 1,461

Kirilenko was one of the bigger small forwards playing the position at 6-foot-9. He averaged 3.2 3.3 blocks per game in 2004 and 2005. His better season saw him accumulate this average in just 41 games though due to a broken right wrist. At the time, the 41 games were enough for him to qualify as the league leader in blocks per game. Over time, he was able to surpass the great Julius Erving.

PF - Tim Duncan - 3,020

Duncan ranks fifth all-time in total blocks. For his efforts over the years, Duncan made the All-Defensive Team 15 times, including eight times on the First Team. Duncan averaged more than 2.0 blocks per game 12 times in his career, as well as 1.9 blocks three other times.

C - Hakeem Olajuwon - 3,830

Olajuwon was a dominant shot-blocker, which is why he leads the all-time rankings. He finished his career with about 600 more blocks than runner-up Dikembe Mutombo. From 1985-1994, Olajuwon finished with at least three blocks per game nine of the 10 years, as well as more than four blocks per game three times. 

Credit for an idea: NBA Debates 1/Instagram

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