The question of who's the GOAT in any sport is always controversial and almost certainly impossible to settle---there are just too many variables (length of career, titles, personal stats, etc.) and intangibles (impact of leadership, clutch plays, teammates, evolution of the game, etc.) that need to be taken together. It is a little easier to compare these different dimensions in isolation, particularly something like scoring.
Lebron James is the highest scorer in NBA history. As of Nov 18 2025, he's made 42,915 points. The next highest scorer is Kareem Abdul Jabbar with 38,387 points, followed by Kobe Bryant with 33,643 points.
Michael Jordan, who in many people's eyes is the most dominant scorer in NBA history, scored 32,292 points in his career; but he only played 15 seasons in the NBA compared to 22+ for James (as shown above). Jordan's 30.1 average points per game (“PPG”) is substantially better than James' 27.0. Does that mean Jordan is the better offensive player? Not necessarily! Perhaps if Jordan continued to play, rather than retire, effectively, at 36 years of age, his PPG would have come down with age. Who knows?
Last year we looked at Lebron James' remarkably consistent scoring record over 20+ seasons in the NBA. He has maintained his output at almost the same level throughout his career! He has scored at the same rate in his first five years in the league, as he has in his middle 10 years, and as he has in his last five years. Simply INCREDIBLE! He has successfully adjusted his game in response to age, team, competition, tactics, etc.
In fact, we can only really appreciate James' uniqueness by comparing his career scoring rate to that of the other NBA greats. As shown below, Jordan's average PPG rate peaked early in his career and gradually trended down (albeit from a very high level), similar to the way Kareem's PPG rate moved over time (but Kareem's average PPG rate fell more steeply than Jordan's). If we quantify the trend, Jordan's chart has a slope of -0.49, i.e., on average, for every two years he played he scored 1 point less per game. Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good! By comparison James’ chart has a slope of 0.04, i.e., almost no change in production as his career progressed. Better! The difference with the other great scorers is most stark when you compare average PPG in seasons 16-20. There is a huge drop-off for Bryant and Jabbar, but not for James. Or more aptly, King James?
(Note, this is an admittedly simplified analysis...that assumes the only variable is age...for example, perhaps Jordan's PPG came down, in part, because he was comfortable sharing more of the scoring responsibilities with his teammates in later years.)
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