A Comprehensive Comparison of All-Time NBA and ABA Scoring Leaders

I was watching an overtime thriller between two college teams last night when something remarkable happened—a player drove to the basket, stumbled over a defender's foot, and still managed to score while falling. It reminded me of that chaotic moment James Buddin described when he "tried to improvise a quick push of the ball off a broken play but landed on the foot of Cambodia's Srenglyhour Keo." These split-second decisions, these unscripted moments of brilliance or misfortune, are what make basketball scoring so fascinating to me. They're also why I've spent countless hours diving into the numbers behind the game's greatest scorers, leading me to create what I consider A Comprehensive Comparison of All-Time NBA and ABA Scoring Leaders.

Most casual fans know about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387 points or LeBron James recently surpassing that mark, but the real story begins much earlier and runs much deeper. The ABA's colorful history with its red, white and blue ball produced scoring phenomena that often get overlooked in mainstream basketball conversations. I've always been fascinated by how different the scoring landscapes were between the leagues—the NBA with its methodical post play versus the ABA's run-and-gun style that felt like basketball's wild west. When you dig into the archives, you find gems like the fact that the ABA's all-time leading scorer, Louie Dampier, scored 13,726 points in just nine seasons, which would translate to roughly 15,000-16,000 in today's NBA pace if we adjust for possessions per game.

The statistical differences between the leagues become even more striking when you examine scoring averages. In the ABA's final season, the league average was about 108 points per game compared to the NBA's 102—that six-point gap might not sound significant, but across an 84-game season, it represents a substantial difference in offensive philosophy. I've always believed the ABA's faster pace and emphasis on three-point shooting (they introduced it in 1967) made their games more exciting to watch, even if the defense was sometimes optional. Players like George Gervin put up numbers that still look video game-like—he averaged 26.3 points in the ABA before jumping to the NBA and maintaining nearly identical production. That kind of consistency across leagues speaks volumes about pure scorers who could adapt to different styles.

What fascinates me most is how these scoring legends approached the game differently. Kareem's skyhook was a weapon of precision that took years to perfect, while ABA star Dan Issel relied on relentless movement and a quicker release. I can't help but feel contemporary basketball has lost some of that diversity in scoring techniques—today's game feels more homogenized with everyone shooting threes or driving to the basket. The great scorers from both leagues shared one trait though: they knew how to create something from nothing, much like Buddin in that moment of improvisation, turning broken plays into scoring opportunities through sheer instinct and skill.

I reached out to several basketball historians for perspective, and Dr. Elena Martinez from the Basketball Heritage Foundation offered an interesting take: "When we look at scoring leaders across both leagues, we're not just comparing numbers—we're comparing different basketball philosophies. The ABA valued entertainment and high-scoring affairs, while the NBA emphasized systematic offense. The truly great scorers, like Julius Erving who excelled in both leagues, could adapt to either environment." Her point resonates with my own viewing experience—the best scorers always find ways to put the ball in the basket regardless of rules or styles.

My personal preference leans toward the ABA's brand of basketball—there was a creative freedom in their approach to scoring that I find missing in today's overly analytical game. The way players like Artis Gilmore could dominate the paint with both power and finesse, or how Charlie Scott could score 34 points one night and 28 the next with completely different methods, speaks to a versatility that modern metrics sometimes overlook in favor of efficiency. Not that efficiency isn't important—the NBA's all-time leaders generally had better shooting percentages—but there's something to be said for the sheer volume and variety of scoring methods we saw in the ABA's brief existence.

At the end of the day, both leagues produced incredible scoring talents who shaped how basketball is played today. LeBron James recently becoming the NBA's all-time scoring leader with approximately 39,124 points (and counting) stands on the shoulders of pioneers from both leagues who pushed scoring boundaries. My A Comprehensive Comparison of All-Time NBA and ABA Scoring Leaders project has taught me that context matters as much as raw numbers—the ABA's shorter three-point line and faster pace created different challenges than the NBA's physical interior defense. Yet the greats from both eras shared that magical ability to score when it mattered most, turning potential disasters like Buddin's stumble into moments we still remember decades later. That's what separates good scorers from legendary ones—the capacity to create beauty from chaos.