Basketball fans love a good debate. Who’s the GOAT? Who’s the most "pure" bucket-getter? Usually, these arguments spiral into a mess of advanced analytics and "ring counting." But if you want to understand how the game actually evolved, you have to look at the scoring leaders nba by year. It’s the ultimate paper trail of the sport’s DNA.
Most people assume the scoring title has always belonged to the guy who puts the most points in the basket. Kinda makes sense, right? Wrong. For the first two decades of the league’s existence, the title actually went to the player with the most total points at the end of the season. It wasn't until the 1969-70 season that the NBA officially switched to using points-per-game (PPG) as the standard. This seemingly tiny technicality changed everything about how we view greatness.
The Early Days and the Total Points Era
In the beginning, it was basically the Wild West. Joe Fulks led the league in the inaugural 1946-47 season with 1,389 total points. He was a 6'5" jump-shooting pioneer for the Philadelphia Warriors. Back then, if you didn't show up for work, you didn't win the trophy. Durability mattered more than efficiency.
George Mikan then came along and broke the game. He was the first true "dominant big man," leading the league for three straight years from 1948 to 1951. He was so much bigger than everyone else that they had to widen the lane just to give other people a chance. It didn't really work.
Then came the 1961-62 season.
Honestly, we need to talk about Wilt Chamberlain. If you look at the scoring leaders nba by year during the early sixties, it looks like a glitch in the simulation. In '62, Wilt averaged 50.4 points per game. Read that again. Fifty. He finished with 4,029 total points. To put that in perspective, Michael Jordan’s highest total ever was 3,041. Wilt was essentially playing a different sport than everyone else. He holds the top four spots for most total points in a single season.
Why the PPG Switch Actually Matters
When the league shifted to the PPG model in 1969-70, it was a move toward "per-minute" excellence. Jerry West was the first beneficiary of this. He "won" the scoring title in 1970 with 31.2 PPG, even though Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) actually scored more total points that year.
This change paved the way for the era of the "Volume Scorer."
In the late 70s, we got one of the wildest finishes in history. In 1978, David Thompson of the Denver Nuggets dropped 73 points on the final day of the season. He thought he had the scoring title in the bag. A few hours later, George "The Iceman" Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs needed 58 points to take it back. He went out and dropped 63. That’s the kind of drama the PPG era invited.
Michael Jordan and the Ten-Title Reign
If you’re talking about the scoring leaders nba by year, Michael Jordan is the final boss. He won 10 scoring titles. That is a record that will likely never be touched. He won seven in a row from 1987 to 1993, then took a "break" to play baseball, came back, and won three more from 1996 to 1998.
Jordan's dominance was different than Wilt’s. While Wilt used sheer size, Jordan used a mix of impossible athleticism and a mid-range jumper that was basically a death sentence for defenders. In the 1986-87 season, Jordan averaged 37.1 points. He did that without the modern obsession with the three-pointer. He was just taking—and making—harder shots than everyone else.
- Most Scoring Titles: Michael Jordan (10)
- Most Consecutive Titles: Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain (7)
- Youngest Scoring Leader: Kevin Durant (21 years, 197 days)
- Oldest Scoring Leader: Michael Jordan (35 years, 60 days)
The Modern Shift: Efficiency and the Three-Ball
The game today is unrecognizable compared to the 90s. If you look at the scoring leaders nba by year over the last decade, you see names like Stephen Curry, James Harden, and Kevin Durant.
Harden’s 2018-19 season was a statistical anomaly. He averaged 36.1 PPG, the highest mark since Jordan’s peak. He did it by mastering the "math" of basketball—layups, free throws, and step-back threes. He became a one-man offense.
Then you have Kevin Durant. He’s arguably the most efficient scorer to ever live. He won four scoring titles in five years between 2010 and 2014. At nearly seven feet tall with the handles of a point guard, he’s what scouts call a "unicorn." He doesn't need 30 shots to get 30 points.
But there’s a nuance here people miss. Today's scoring titles are often decided by "load management." In the old days, you played 82 games. Now, the leaders often play closer to 65 or 70. The NBA actually has a rule for this: you have to play at least 58 games to qualify for the scoring title. This prevents a guy from playing one game, scoring 50, and calling it a career.
Recent Scoring Champions (2020-2025)
- 2020: James Harden (34.3 PPG)
- 2021: Stephen Curry (32.0 PPG)
- 2022: Joel Embiid (30.6 PPG)
- 2023: Joel Embiid (33.1 PPG)
- 2024: Luka Dončić (33.9 PPG)
- 2025: Luka Dončić (Current leader trend)
Luka Dončić is the new prototype. He’s slow, he’s not jumping over anyone, but he’s so smart he makes the defense look like they’re moving in slow motion. When he led the league in 2024, he joined the elite club of players who also averaged nearly 10 assists while winning the scoring title—a feat only Nate "Tiny" Archibald truly mastered in 1973.
The LeBron James Paradox
Wait, where is LeBron James in all this?
It’s one of the weirdest facts in sports. LeBron James is the NBA's all-time leading scorer. He has over 40,000 career points. Yet, he only has one scoring title (2008).
How is that possible? Longevity and consistency.
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LeBron has averaged at least 25 points per game for nearly 20 straight years. He doesn't peak at 37 like Jordan or 50 like Wilt; he just never stops. It’s a different kind of greatness. It’s the "tortoise and the hare" strategy, except the tortoise is a 250-pound freight train who can also pass like Magic Johnson.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're trying to use these stats to settle an argument, keep a few things in mind.
First, check the pace of play. In the 60s, teams took way more shots because the pace was frantic. That’s why Wilt’s numbers are so high. In the late 90s and early 2000s, the game slowed to a crawl. Allen Iverson winning scoring titles with 28 PPG in the early 2000s is actually just as impressive as someone scoring 32 today because there were fewer possessions back then.
Second, look at the field goal percentage. A scoring leader who shoots 42% is hurting his team more than a guy who scores 2 points less but shoots 52%. This is why Kevin Durant’s four titles are held in such high regard by purists.
To truly master the history of the game, go back and watch footage of the 1978 scoring race or Jordan’s 1987 season. The numbers tell you what happened, but the film tells you how. The evolution of the scoring title is really just the story of human beings finding new ways to put a ball through a hoop despite everyone else trying to stop them.
Check the current season's leaders every few weeks; with the way the three-point shot has opened up the floor, we might see someone challenge Wilt's "impossible" records sooner than we think.