Basketball fans love a good argument, but one thing you can't really fudge is the bucket. If the ball goes through the hoop, it counts. Yet, looking back at the list of nba scoring leaders by year, it’s actually kind of wild how much the "rules" of being the best scorer have shifted since the 1940s.
It hasn't always been about who has the highest average.
Early on, it was a total points game. If you played more games, you had a better shot at the crown. That’s how Max Zaslofsky took the title in 1948 despite averaging 21.0 points, while Joe Fulks had actually averaged 23.2 the year before. It wasn’t until the 1969-70 season that the NBA finally wised up and decided the scoring title should go to the player with the highest points-per-game (PPG) average. This change was huge. It shifted the focus from endurance to nightly dominance.
When Wilt Chamberlain broke the math of basketball
You honestly cannot talk about scoring without mentioning 1962. Most people know Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single game, but his season-long stats that year look like a typo. He averaged 50.4 points per game. Let that sink in for a second. To do that today, a player would need to score 50 every single night for six months.
Wilt didn't just lead the league; he lapped it. In '62, he finished with 4,029 total points. For context, most modern scoring leaders finish with somewhere between 2,200 and 2,500. He was playing nearly 48.5 minutes per game—which is mathematically impossible unless you realize he played almost every minute of every overtime too.
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Then you’ve got Michael Jordan. While Wilt was about raw, physical "I’m bigger than you" dominance, Jordan was a relentless machine of mid-range daggers. Jordan has 10 scoring titles. That’s the record. He won seven of them in a row from 1987 to 1993, then casually came back from a baseball "retirement" to win three more.
His 1986-87 season was particularly stupid. He averaged 37.1 points. It’s the highest average for anyone not named Wilt Chamberlain. Jordan did this in an era where the "Bad Boy" Pistons were allowed to basically tackle people in the air.
The shift from centers to the three-point explosion
For decades, the nba scoring leaders by year were almost exclusively big men or rim-attacking guards. George Mikan, Neil Johnston, Bob Pettit—these guys lived in the paint. Even in the 90s, Shaq was the last true "bruiser" to win multiple titles (1995 and 2000).
But then the 2000s happened.
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The game opened up. We got the era of the isolation "bucket getter." Think Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady. These guys weren't necessarily the most efficient, but they had the ultimate green light. Iverson won four titles while barely weighing 165 pounds. Kobe's 2006 season where he averaged 35.4 was a masterclass in "I don't care if three guys are guarding me, I'm shooting."
The modern era: Efficiency is king
Today, the scoring leader looks a lot different. It’s not just about taking 30 shots; it's about the three-pointer and the free-throw line. James Harden turned scoring into a literal science in 2019, averaging 36.1 points by living at the stripe and spamming step-back threes.
And don't look now, but the big men are back—just with better range. Joel Embiid became the first center since Shaq to win the title, taking it back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Then you have Luka Doncic, who snatched the 2024 crown by averaging 33.9 points. Luka’s game is basically "slow-motion magic," using footwork and high-IQ angles rather than the raw speed of a guy like Russell Westbrook (who led the league in 2015 and 2017).
What people get wrong about the "Qualifiers"
There’s this weird rule that most casual fans ignore: the 58-game requirement. To be the official scoring leader, you usually have to play 70% of the season (which is 58 games in an 82-game schedule).
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But there’s a loophole.
If a player plays, say, 50 games, the league will still let them win if they would have had the highest average even if you gave them 0 points for those missing 8 games. It’s a "mathematical floor" meant to prevent someone from playing five games, scoring 40 in each, and claiming the trophy.
Why the scoring title still matters in 2026
We are currently living in the highest-scoring era since the 1960s. As of early 2026, the league's pace is blistering. LeBron James is still out here adding to his all-time total—he recently passed the 50,000 mark for total career points (including playoffs)—but the yearly race is now a young man's game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards have turned the scoring title hunt into a nightly highlight reel.
If you're looking to track who might be the next king of the nba scoring leaders by year, pay attention to these three things:
- Free Throw Attempts (FTA): You can't average 30+ without getting to the line at least 8-10 times a game.
- The "Usage Rate": Look for players who have the ball in their hands for more than 33% of their team's possessions.
- Three-Point Volume: In the modern game, if you aren't taking at least seven or eight threes a night, you're leaving points on the table.
To really understand the history, look at the transition from 1969 to 1970. That was the moment the NBA decided that "being there" wasn't as important as "being the best while you were there." It changed the legacy of the scoring title forever.
Keep an eye on the official NBA stats page or Basketball-Reference to see how the current season's qualifiers are shaking out. The race usually doesn't crystallize until after the All-Star break when the "0-point floor" starts to matter less for the stars who have missed time.