NBA Individual Records
The NBA record book includes some of the most famous achievements in
basketball history. Wilt Chamberlain dominates many of the league's
single-game and single-season records, while modern stars have climbed
to the top of several career categories through a combination of
longevity and sustained production.
The tables below show the NBA record holder in each major statistical
category for a single game, a single season and an entire career.
Regular-season records are shown unless otherwise noted.
NBA Single-Game Records
| Category |
Record |
Player |
Details |
| Points |
100 |
Wilt Chamberlain |
Philadelphia Warriors vs. New York Knicks, March 2, 1962 |
| Rebounds |
55 |
Wilt Chamberlain |
Philadelphia Warriors vs. Boston Celtics, November 24, 1960 |
| Assists |
30 |
Scott Skiles |
Orlando Magic vs. Denver Nuggets, December 30, 1990 |
| Steals |
11 |
Larry Kenon / Kendall Gill |
NBA single-game record shared by two players |
| Blocks |
17 |
Elmore Smith |
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers, October 28, 1973 |
| Minutes |
69 |
Dale Ellis |
Seattle SuperSonics vs. Milwaukee Bucks, November 9, 1989 |
NBA Single-Season Records
| Category |
Record |
Player |
Season |
| Points |
4,029 |
Wilt Chamberlain |
1961-62 |
| Rebounds |
2,149 |
Wilt Chamberlain |
1960-61 |
| Assists |
1,164 |
John Stockton |
1990-91 |
| Steals |
301 |
Alvin Robertson |
1985-86 |
| Blocks |
456 |
Mark Eaton |
1984-85 |
| Games |
88 |
Walt Bellamy |
1968-69 |
| Minutes |
3,882 |
Wilt Chamberlain |
1961-62 |
Walt Bellamy was able to play 88 games in 1968-69 because he was traded
from the New York Knicks to the Detroit Pistons during the season. The
two teams had played an uneven number of games at the time of the trade,
allowing Bellamy to appear in more games than the standard 82-game
schedule.
NBA Career Records
| Category |
Record |
Player |
| Points |
42,184 |
LeBron James |
| Rebounds |
23,924 |
Wilt Chamberlain |
| Assists |
15,806 |
John Stockton |
| Steals |
3,265 |
John Stockton |
| Blocks |
3,830 |
Hakeem Olajuwon |
| Games |
1,612 |
LeBron James |
| Minutes |
59,041 |
LeBron James |
Career totals are through the end of the 2025-26 NBA regular season.
Active-player records can change when regular-season play resumes.
NBA Records Facts
-
Wilt Chamberlain owns the NBA single-game scoring
record with 100 points, set for the Philadelphia Warriors against the
New York Knicks on March 2, 1962.
-
Chamberlain also owns the single-game rebounding record with 55 and
the single-season records for total points, rebounds and minutes.
-
Scott Skiles set the single-game assists record with
30 for Orlando against Denver on December 30, 1990.
-
Larry Kenon and Kendall Gill share
the single-game steals record with 11.
-
Elmore Smith recorded 17 blocked shots in a game in
1973, the highest officially recorded total in NBA history.
-
John Stockton is the NBA's career leader in both
assists and steals.
-
Hakeem Olajuwon is the NBA's official career leader
in blocked shots.
-
LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the
NBA's career scoring leader in 2023.
-
James later passed Robert Parish for the most
regular-season games played in NBA history during the 2025-26 season.
Understanding Historical NBA Records
Some NBA statistical categories were not officially tracked throughout
the league's entire history. Steals and blocked shots became official
NBA statistics beginning with the 1973-74 season.
As a result, career and single-game records in those categories do not
include unofficial totals from earlier eras.
This distinction is especially important when comparing players such as
Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell with players from later generations.
Both were prolific shot blockers, but blocks were not an official NBA
statistic during their careers.
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