3 NBA players who are likely to reach 20,000 career points in the 2021-22 season
In the history of the NBA, only 46 players have scored 20,000 points or more in the entirety of their careers. The total number of players that have played in the league is over 4700. To put things into perspective, less than 1% of the players that have played in the league have scored 20,000 points. And with each player capable of playing a maximum of 82 games per regular season, it will take an NBA player starting in the league almost 13 seasons of scoring 20 points per game to be able to score 20,000 points.
As difficult as that may sound, reality is often even more awe-inspiring than dreams. Seven players in the NBA have not only crossed this seemingly impossible feat but reached the pennacle of scoring by crossing the 30,000 point landmark. Players like Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are all members of this club. While LeBron James is the only active player to have crossed the 30,000 mark, Wilt Chamberlain's career total of 38,387 points is unbelievable.
Three NBA players who are likely to reach 20,000 career points in the 2021-22 regular season
LeBron James and Russell Westbrook react to Dwight Howard fouling out in Lakers' first preseason game vs. Nets 😅
https://t.co/nIzneiliz6
On this list, we look at three players who are the best potential candidates to reach 20,000 career points in the 2021-22 regular season. Even though Dwight Howard has scored 19,113 points in his career and is still playing, he has only averaged 7.25 points per game in his last two seasons. He will need to score at least 10.82 points per game to reach this mark. For this reason, he will not be included in the list.
#3 Stephen Curry (18,434 points)
Stephen Curry's is the face of the modern era of basketball. He has quite literally changed how the offensive unit is constructed inside a team. Where once three-pointers were a novelty, a source of entertainment, they have now become a necessity and the credit for doing so goes to Stephen Curry.
Steph Curry with the look away three 🔥😤 https://t.co/flBsSc9Fn1
Curry has scored a total of 18,434 points in his 12 seasons in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors' maestro needs to score 1,566 more points in the 2021-22 season to achieve this feat.
A healthy Steph has averaged over 25 points per game in the last five seasons. In the 2020-21 regular season, he led the league in scoring with an average of 32 points per game. Considering his form and potential, it is not a stretch to assume that Curry will have scored 20,000 career points by the end of the upcoming season.