# List of National Basketball League (United States) scoring leaders

National Basketball League awards and honors :
Championship :
Individual awards :
Coach of the Year
Most Valuable Player
Rookie of the Year :
Honors :
All-NBL Team
Scoring leaders :
vte :
In basketball, points are accumulated through free throws or field goals. The National Basketball League's (NBL) scoring title was awarded to the player with the most total points in a given season.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Bobby McDermott holds the NBL all-time record for career points scored (3,583), while fellow Hall of Famer George Mikan holds the single season points (1,195) and points per game (21.3) records. McDermott earned the most points spanning an eight-year NBL career, but Mikan only played two seasons and set both records during 1948–49, the final year the league existed.

## Key

| * | * | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| † | † | Denotes player who won the MVP Award that year | Denotes player who won the MVP Award that year | Denotes player who won the MVP Award that year | Denotes player who won the MVP Award that year | Denotes player who won the MVP Award that year |
| Player (X) | Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player had been the scoring leader up to and including that season | Denotes the number of times the player had been the scoring leader up to and including that season | Denotes the number of times the player had been the scoring leader up to and including that season | Denotes the number of times the player had been the scoring leader up to and including that season | Denotes the number of times the player had been the scoring leader up to and including that season |
| G | Guard | Guard | F | Forward | C | Center |

## Season scoring leaders

| Season | Player | Pos. | Team | Total points | Games played | PPG | Field goals made | Free throws made |
| 1937–38† | Leroy Edwards | C | Oshkosh All-Stars | 210 | 13 | 16.2 | 83 | 44 |
| 1938–39† | Leroy Edwards (2) | C | Oshkosh All-Stars | 334 | 28 | 11.9 | 124 | 86 |
| 1939–40† | Leroy Edwards (3) | C | Oshkosh All-Stars | 361 | 28 | 12.9 | 111 | 139 |
| 1940–41† | Ben Stephens | G/F | Akron Goodyear Wingfoots | 265 | 24 | 11.0 | 98 | 69 |
| 1941–42† | Chuck Chuckovits | G/F | Toledo Jim White Chevrolets | 406 | 22 | 18.5 | 143 | 120 |
| 1942–43† | Bobby McDermott* | G | Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons | 316 | 23 | 13.7 | 132 | 52 |
| 1943–44 | Mel Riebe | G/F | Cleveland Chase Brassmen | 323 | 18 | 17.9 | 113 | 97 |
| 1944–45 | Mel Riebe (2) | G/F | Cleveland Allmen Transfers | 607 | 30 | 20.2 | 223 | 161 |
| 1945–46 | Bob Carpenter | F/C | Oshkosh All-Stars | 473 | 34 | 13.9 | 186 | 101 |
| 1946–47 | Al Cervi* | G/F | Rochester Royals | 632 | 44 | 14.4 | 228 | 176 |
| 1947–48† | George Mikan* | C | Minneapolis Lakers | 1,195 | 56 | 21.3 | 406 | 383 |
| 1948–49† | Don Otten | C | Tri-Cities Blackhawks | 899 | 64 | 14.0 | 301 | 297 |

## Career scoring leaders

| Rank | Player | Pos. | Team(s) played for (years) | Total points | Games played | PPG | Field goals made | Free throws made |
| 1 | Bobby McDermott* | G | Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (1941–1946) Chicago American Gears (1946–1947) Sheboygan Red Skins (1947) Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1947–1948) Hammond Calumet Buccaneers (1948–1949) | 3,583 | 287 | 12.48 | 1,465 | 653 |
| 2 | Leroy Edwards | C | Oshkosh All-Stars (1937–1949) | 3,221 | 322 | 10.00 | 1,045 | 1,131 |
| 3 | Gene Englund | F/C | Oshkosh All-Stars (1941–1944, 1945–1949) | 2,600 | 238 | 10.92 | 906 | 788 |
| 4 | Ed Dancker | C | Sheboygan Red Skins (1938–1949) | 2,490 | 321 | 7.76 | 955 | 580 |
| 5 | Al Cervi* | G/F | Buffalo Bisons (1937–1938) Rochester Royals (1945–1948) Syracuse Nationals (1948–1949) | 2,326 | 187 | 12.44 | 797 | 732 |
| 6 | Don Otten | C | Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1946–1949) | 2,292 | 168 | 13.64 | 783 | 726 |
| 7 | Mike Novak | F/C | Chicago Bruins (1939–1942) Chicago Studebaker Flyers (1942–1943) Sheboygan Red Skins (1943–1946) Syracuse Nationals (1946–1948) | 2,281 | 267 | 8.54 | 880 | 521 |
| 8 | Bob Carpenter | F/C | Oshkosh All-Stars (1940–1941, 1945–1948) Hammond Calumet Buccaneers (1948–1949) | 2,140 | 209 | 10.24 | 796 | 548 |
| 9 | George Glamack | F/C | Akron Goodyear Wingfoots (1941–1942) Rochester Royals (1945–1947) Indianapolis Kautskys (1947–1948) Hammond Calumet Buccaneers (1948–1949) | 2,138 | 202 | 10.58 | 763 | 612 |
| 10 | Jake Pelkington | F/C | Akron Goodyear Wingfoots (1940–1941) Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (1942–1948) | 1,949 | 226 | 8.62 | 668 | 613 |
| 11 | Charley Shipp | G/F | Akron Goodyear Wingfoots (1937–1939) Oshkosh All-Stars (1939–1944) Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (1944–1946) Anderson Duffey Packers (1946–1948) Waterloo Hawks (1948–1949) | 1,935 | 376 | 5.15 | 765 | 405 |
| 12 | Bob Calihan | G/F | Detroit Eagles (1940–1941) Chicago American Gears (1945–1947) Flint Dow A.C.'s (1947–1948) Syracuse Nationals (1948–1949) | 1,810 | 165 | 10.96 | 675 | 460 |
| 13 | Stan Patrick | G/F | Chicago American Gears (1944–1947) Flint Dow A.C.'s (1947–1948) Hammond Calumet Buccaneers (1948–1949) | 1,765 | 212 | 8.33 | 681 | 403 |
| 14 | George Mikan* | C | Chicago American Gears (1946–1947) Minneapolis Lakers (1947–1948) | 1,608 | 81 | 19.85 | 553 | 502 |
| 15 | Arnie Risen* | C | Indianapolis Kautskys (1945–1948) Rochester Royals (1948) | 1,606 | 123 | 13.06 | 563 | 480 |
| 16 | Howie Schultz | F/C | Anderson Duffey Packers (1946–1949) | 1,600 | 165 | 9.70 | 544 | 512 |
| 17 | Red Holzman* | G | Rochester Royals (1945–1948) | 1,500 | 138 | 10.86 | 616 | 268 |
| 18 | Rube Lautenschlager | G/F | Sheboygan Red Skins (1938–1947) | 1,442 | 222 | 6.49 | 598 | 246 |
| 19 | Chips Sobek | G | Indianapolis Kautskys (1945–1946) Toledo Jeeps (1946–1948) Hammond Calumet Buccaneers (1948–1949) | 1,434 | 148 | 9.68 | 449 | 536 |
| 20 | Mike Todorovich | F/C | Sheboygan Red Skins (1947–1949) | 1,425 | 120 | 11.87 | 516 | 393 |
| 21 | Whitey Von Nieda | G/F | Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1947–1949) | 1,367 | 124 | 11.02 | 523 | 321 |
| 22 | Harry Boykoff | C | Toledo Jeeps (1947–1948) Waterloo Hawks (1948–1949) | 1,351 | 120 | 11.25 | 518 | 315 |
| 23 | Buddy Jeannette* | G | Cleveland White Horses (1938–1939) Detroit Eagles (1939–1941) Sheboygan Red Skins (1942–1943) Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (1943–1946) | 1,324 | 162 | 8.17 | 451 | 422 |
| 24 | Clint Wager | F/C | Oshkosh All-Stars (1943–1948) Hammond Calumet Buccaneers (1948–1949) | 1,319 | 247 | 5.34 | 500 | 319 |
| 25 | Hal Tidrick | G/F | Sheboygan Red Skins (1944–1945) Toledo Jeeps (1946–1948) | 1,302 | 104 | 12.51 | 499 | 304 |