Fastest NBA Players: On November 1, Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant made NBA history as the 12th player to reach 27,000 points in his career. As Durant became the fourth-fastest player in NBA history to reach this milestone, he had just overtaken Hakeem Olajuwon for the 12th-best scoring mark ever held by the NBA. We ranked the 10 players who achieved 27,000 points based on the number of games needed, moving from the most to the least, in light of this incredible achievement.
Durant became the 11th former MVP and 10th NBA champion to achieve 27,000 career points with his appearance on the list. With the exception of Karl Malone and Carmelo Anthony, who are the only players without a ring on the list, he is also the tenth past Finals MVP to achieve the feat.
Now that the patterns have been established, let’s see who became the fastest player in NBA history to score 27,000 points in their career.
Fastest NBA Players Who Achieved 27,000 Career Points
1. Wilt Chamberlain – 780 Games
No NBA player in history has scored more points on the offensive end of the court than Wilt Chamberlain did during his first ten seasons in the league. Wilt Chamberlain scored 27,00 points in just 780 games, enough for a scoring average of 34.6 points per contest.
With seven straight scoring titles to start his career and an NBA record 50.4 points per game scoring average in 1961–62, Chamberlain rewrote the history books in the first seven seasons of his career. One of just two players in history to average 30.0 points or more throughout a career, Chamberlain amassed 31,419 points in his 13 seasons of play with the Warriors, Sixers, and Lakers.
Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history to have scored at least 4,000 points in a season. In 14 years, he also had three seasons with 3,000 points and seven with 2,000 points. With 31,419 points, he is eighth in NBA history. In just his eleventh season, he reached 27,000 points.
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2. Michael Jordan – 852 Games
Michael Jordan’s claim to be the greatest scorer in NBA history is strengthened by his ranking second on this list of all-time greats. The main reasons of contention are his 10 scoring titles, NBA-record 30.1 points per game, and 49.7% lifetime shooting percentage, but his position here ties everything together. Jordan played with the Chicago Bulls for 13 seasons, averaging 31.5 points per game on 50.5% shooting from 1985 to 1998. During that time, he missed two seasons due to injury and helped the team win six NBA titles and six Finals MVP trophies.
To conclude his career with 27,000 points, Jordan needed to play in just 852 games, or more than 11 seasons. With 29,277 points at the end of his Bulls career, he included two seasons in which he played 17 games or fewer and two seasons in which he did not. In the NBA, Jordan played for the Washington Wizards during the 2002–2003 season. He finished his career with 32,292 points, which ranked sixth all-time in the league’s scoring record.
With one 3,000-point season, eleven 2,000-point seasons, and thirteen 1,500-point seasons, Michael Jordan was a scoring outlier. Jordan had six NBA championships, six MVPs from the Finals, five MVP honours, a Defensive Player of the Year title, and nine choices to the All-Defensive First Team.
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 965 Games
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was one of the most potent offensive players in NBA history in the early years of his career with the Milwaukee Bucks. Kareem would win two scoring crowns, three MVP awards, an NBA title, and a Finals MVP award during his six-year tenure with the Bucks from 1970 to 1975. Kareem would score 14,211 points over this same period, averaging 30.4 points per game.
One of the most lopsided deals in NBA history saw Kareem go to the Lakers following the 1975 season. He would add three more MVP honours and one more Finals MVP award to his five NBA titles with the Lakers over the following fourteen years. With 24,176 points, he would surpass Wilt Chamberlain in 1984 to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. LeBron James shattered that record in 2022–23, although he would still hold onto it for the next 38 seasons.
4. Kevin Durant – 993 Games
We now have Kevin Durant, who became the most recent player to reach the 27,000-point mark in fewer games than James did during his career. From his NBA debut in 2007–08 with the Seattle SuperSonics, who would subsequently change their name to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant has been an absolute scorer. Durant would amass 17,566 points, win four scoring titles, and get an MVP award in his first nine seasons.
Durant made one of the most treacherous decisions in NBA history by joining the Golden State Warriors following the 2015–16 season. After scoring 5,374 points over the course of the following three seasons, Durant led the club to two NBA titles and two MVP honours in the Finals. After leaving Golden State, Durant played for the Brooklyn Nets, where he finished his three-year career with 3,744 points—really just two seasons because of injuries.
To achieve 27,000 points and move up to 12th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring record, he would need to play four games in his 17th season (2023–2024) with the Phoenix Suns. In the previous 17 seasons, Durant has had 12 seasons with at least 1,500 points and six seasons with at least 2,000 points. Durant would be challenging LeBron James for the top place in NBA history right now if it weren’t for an Achilles injury. By the time his career ends, he still has a chance to finish at least fifth place despite the injuries.
5. LeBron James – 995 Games
Of all the NBA players in history, just five have scored 27,000 points in their career with fewer than 1,000 games played. LeBron James, who reached the milestone in 995 career games in the early going of the 2016–17 Cleveland Cavaliers season, is the first of these players.
From 2004 until 2010, James was a member of the Cavaliers, where he scored 15,251 points, won two MVP titles, and established himself as a prolific scorer. James scored 7,919 points, averaging 26.9 points per game, in his next four seasons with the Miami Heat. He also added two MVP titles to his trophy cabinet, two championships, and two MVP honours to Miami’s Finals.
After winning an unexpected title in 2016, James would lead the Cavaliers in his second tenure by scoring 27,000 points early in the following year. He would continue to be reliable for the following six years, leading the NBA in scoring in 2022–23 while playing for the Lakers. LeBron James is the first player in NBA history to have scored 38.829 points in his 21st season, breaking the rules of nature as we know them. He has also been a consistent and long-lasting scorer.
6. Karl Malone – 1,023 Games
The only two players to score 27,000 points without winning an NBA title are Karl Malone and Carmelo Anthony. From 1986 until 2003, Malone’s reliable basketball skills were evident while he was a member of the Utah Jazz, where he went on to earn two MVP honours and lead them to two NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998.
Malone has 12 seasons with at least 25.0 points per game and 13 seasons with at least 2,000 points scored throughout his 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz and one with the Los Angeles Lakers. Malone just needed twelve and a half seasons to accumulate 27,000 points. From then until his final season with the Lakers in 2003–04, his scoring started to decline. Malone is one of just three players to exceed 35,000 points in their career and has scored the third-most points in NBA history (36,928).
7. Kobe Bryant – 1,069 Games
Kobe Bryant became one of the most recognisable scorers and all-around players in NBA history during his 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. Throughout his career, Bryant helped the Lakers win five NBA titles, two Finals MVP awards, and one MVP award by applying the lessons he acquired from the legendary Michael Jordan.
In an attempt to help the Lakers win the championship after losing teammate Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant went on one of his greatest scoring runs in the middle of the 2000s. With two scoring titles in 2006 and 2007, Bryant scored 13,575 points overall between the time Shaq left in 2004–05 and until he won his fifth championship in 2010.
By the time his career came to an end, Bryant had eight seasons with 2,000 points or more, including four in which he held the league record for most points scored. In addition, over his 20 seasons, Bryant recorded 13 seasons with at least 1,500 points. With 33,643 points at the end of his career, he was tied for fourth in NBA history in points scored.
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8. Shaquille O’Neal – 1,082 Games
The greatest player in NBA history in terms of physical dominance is Shaquille O’Neal. From his first NBA season in 1992–1993 to his early days with the Orlando Magic, O’Neal was immediately effective. Shaq won one NBA scoring championship in 1995 during his first four seasons with the Orlando Magic. He also helped the team to its first-ever Finals trip. At 27.2 points per game on average, he would go on to score 8,019 points during those four seasons.
In 1996–1997, O’Neal left to play for the Lakers, where he would play for the next eight years. Shaq reached the pinnacle of his play during these eight careers, winning his first MVP prize, second scoring title, and three consecutive NBA titles with the Lakers from 2000 to 2002. He also won all three Finals MVP awards. O’Neal scored 13,895 points with an average of 27.0 points per game when he was in Los Angeles.
Shaq would play for the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat throughout the course of the following five seasons. He scored 4,705 points throughout that period, hitting the 27,000-point milestone with Phoenix in 2009. One of the best scoring centres of all time, O’Neal scored 28,596 points in his career, good for seventh place in NBA history.
9. Carmelo Anthony – 1,162 Games
Carmelo Anthony was one of the best basketball players of all time during most of his career. He was a deadly three-level scorer who used his flawless pot and mid-range skills to hurt opponents. Anthony began his playing career in 2004 and spent eight seasons with the Denver Nuggets. Anthony scored 13,970 points in 564 games during his tenure with the Nuggets, averaging 24.8 points per game.
Anthony left Denver to play for the next seven seasons with the New York Knicks. In 2013, Anthony won his lone scoring championship with the team, and he was selected as an All-Star in each of his three seasons with them. During his tenure with the Knicks, Anthony scored 10,186 points and averaged 24.8 points per game. Anthony would make stints in Oklahoma City and Portland after leaving New York before scoring 27,000 points in his career in 2021 while playing for the Trail Blazers.
Throughout his career, Anthony has had two seasons with at least 2,000 points and 12 seasons with at least 1,500 points. Anthony finished sixth in NBA history with a total of 28,289 points.
10. Dirk Nowitzki – 1,199 Games
From 1999 to 2019, Dirk Nowitzki was a member of the Dallas Mavericks throughout his entire 21-year career. After becoming the best big-man shooter in NBA history during his career, Nowitzki was 7 feet 0 inches tall and had a distinctive one-legged fadeaway that was almost difficult for opponents to stop.
Although Nowitzki never took home a scoring championship throughout his career, he was a paragon of offensive consistency. Throughout his career, he had 12 seasons with at least 1,500 points and five separate seasons with 2,000 points. After an incredible upset victory against the Miami Heat in 2007, Nowitzki went on to win an MVP award, an NBA title, and the MVP award in the Finals.
Just 11 games into his 17th season in 2014–15, Nowitzki would eventually achieve the 27,000-point milestone. Nowitzki is one of just seven players to achieve 30,000 points in his career and would end up with 31,560 career points, sixth in NBA history.
