MIES (Switzerland) - When Kevin Durant on Sunday leapfrogged Dirk Nowitzki into sixth place on the all-time scorers list in NBA history, it served as a reminder that many of the best players in the history of the game also compete for their national team.
Houston Rockets star Durant passed Dallas Mavericks legend Nowitzki with two free throws just 15.2 seconds from the end in Houston's 119-110 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday,
What are the FIBA résumés of the TOP 10 All-Time NBA scorers?
10 - Shaquille O'Neal, USA
O'Neal, who scored 28,596 points in his remarkable career with the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics, had a starring role with USA, too.
"Shaq Daddy" averaged 18.0 points and 8.5 rebounds for the USA when they rolled to the title at the 1994 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Toronto - the first team comprised of NBA players in FIBA's flagship event.
At the 1996 Olympics, O'Neal poured in 9.3 points and corralled 5.3 rebounds per game as USA claimed the gold medal. O'Neal went into the FIBA Hall of Fame as a member of the 2017 Class.
9 - James Harden, USA
"The Beard" at last check had 28,667 points in the NBA. In international basketball, he was a scoring machine, too, at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Harden was a leader of one of the most dominant USA sides of all time, pouring in 14.2 points per game as the Americans ran roughshod over every national squad they encountered.
In the title game against Serbia, Harden had his best ever game for USA with 23 points on 8 of 11 shooting, including a 3 of 5 performance from deep. Harden had two years earlier come off the bench to help the Americans capture the Olympic gold medal in London.
8 - Wilt Chamberlain, USA
Sadly, Wilt the Stilt never suited up for the USA national team. Basketball fans will have to make do with his impressive NBA career, which saw him claim a couple NBA championships, four league MVP awards, the Rookie of the Year, a Finals MVP, and one All-Star Game MVP.
He was named to 13 All-Star Games and 10 All-NBA Teams.
He also had the 100-point game that is unlikely to be surpassed. On March 2, 1962, Chamberlain reached the century mark in points in the Philadelphia Warriors' 169-147 triumph over the New York Knicks.
7 - Dirk Nowitzki, Germany
Nowitzki represented Germany for two decades and was MVP of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2002 and at FIBA EuroBasket 2005. His devotion to the national team was evident as he always wanted to play for his country.
At FIBA EuroBasket 2001 in Istanbul, he led the tournament in scoring at 28.7 points per game. He had 43 points and 15 rebounds in the third-place clash against Spain! The following year at the World Cup in Indianapolis, Nowitzki led all scorers at 24.0 points per game and was tournament MVP after Germany was third.
While fueling Germany's run to the EuroBasket 2005 Final in Belgrade, Nowitzki led the tournament in scoring at 25.1 points per game and claimed MVP honors. His highest scoring FIBA game was in 2006, when he had 47 in a 108-103 triple overtime victory against Angola.
He featured in seven EuroBaskets, two World Cups and one Olympics after spearheading Germany's successful run at the 2008 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens.
6 - Kevin Durant, USA
KD shot to fame in international basketball at the first attempt, when he took over as the Americans' leader at the 2010 FIBA Basketball World Cup and spearheaded the team's run to the championship. Durant led the USA in scoring at 22.8 points per game and was named tournament MVP.
"Durantula" rescued the USA in their only close game, a 70-68 win over Brazil when he had 27 points and 10 rebounds. His biggest scoring game of the tournament was a 38-point eruption in the Semi-Finals against Lithuania.
Durant then took his stardom to the Olympic stage. He was unstoppable at the 2012 Games in London, and again at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. His Olympic MVP moment came in 2021, in Tokyo, when Durant put USA on his back and scored 29 points as the Americans edge France, 87-82, in the Gold Medal Game.
The superstar also made important shots for the USA when they defeated Serbia and France in their last two games at the 2024 Olympics.
5 - Michael Jordan, USA
His Airness, who scored 32,292 points in the NBA, just may be the GOAT when it comes to the NBA, with six NBA titles and five regular season MVP awards.
Yet before his professional years, Jordan dazzled the hoops world with USA, at the 1984 Olympics. He led the USA, which was still comprised of college players, at 17.1 points per game and sparked them to the gold medal.
Eight years later with the Dream Team in Barcelona, he lit up the Olympics again, averaging 14.9 points as the USA stormed to gold.
MJ never lost a game in the USA jersey and was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame as a member of the 2015 class.
4 - Kobe Bryant, USA
Fourth all-time on the NBA scoring charts with 33,643 points, Bryant also showed his mamba mentality with USA in FIBA ball. Bryant was the author of one of the most famous plays in Olympic history in 2008, in Beijing, with the Redeem Team.
With Spain nipping at the USA's heels and threatening to beat them in the Gold Medal Game, Bryant drilled a long 3-pointer and was fouled on the play by Rudy Fernandez. The American sank the free-throw for the 4-point play that iced victory and got USA back to the top of the podium for the first time at Olympics or World Cup since Sydney 2000. On a team of superstars, Bryant averaged 15.0 points per game.
He played with USA four years later in London and helped the Americans retain the gold medal. He made 12 of his last 23 attempts from deep at the Games.
In the Quarter-Finals against Australia, Bryant was 6 of 10 from long range and had 20 points, while in the Semi-Finals against Argentina he made 3 of 6 and scored 13 points. In the Gold Medal Game rematch with Spain, Bryant had 17 points and buried 3 of 7 from the arc.
3 - Karl Malone, USA
Yes, he always delivered! Always, be it in the NBA with the Utah Jazz, or in international basketball with USA.
Third all-time on the NBA scoring charts with 36,928 points, Malone first played for the Dream Team at the 1992 FIBA AmeriCup, when it won to qualify for Barcelona and ignite interest in FIBA ball.
After averaging 16 points and 6 rebounds at the AmeriCup, Malone poured in 13.0 points and grabbed 5.3 rebounds per contest at the Olympics as the Americans stormed to the gold medal.
In the Semi-Finals against "The Other Dream Team", Lithuania (a team that had Arvydas Sabonis, Sarunas Marciulionis and several other great players) Malone had 18 points and 7 rebounds. Malone also helped make USA virtually unbeatable four years later when they won the gold medal in Atlanta.
2 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, USA
The legend that is No. 2 on the NBA's All-Time scoring list, Kareem finished with 38,387 points in the NBA.
His sky hook was both accurate and unblockable! Kareem was larger than life, appearing in Bruce Lee's 1978 film Game of Death, and also famously in the comedy Airplane.
A standout at UCLA, when his name was still Lew Alcindor, the great one made himself unavailable for the USA at the 1968 Olympics as a protest against racial injustice. Kareem won six NBA titles, the first with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 and the other five with the Los Angeles Lakers.
1 - LeBron James, USA
The King has made his mark with the USA at four Olympic Games, starting in 2004 and all the way through the last Summer Games in France.
James was at the start of his burgeoning career in Athens, when the USA won the bronze medal. Since leading the team to a third-place finish at the FIBA Basketball World Cup two years later in Japan, when he averaged 18.1 points per game, James has been a real star in the USA shirt.
He was a vocal leader and all-round contributor in the USA team that marched to the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in China, where USA beat Spain 118-107 in the Final. At the London Games in 2012, James averaged 5.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds to go with his 13.3 points per game.
After missing the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, it seemed James was done the national team yet he returned for the France Olympics in 2024 and was named MVP after firing USA to gold. James' averages of 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and eye-popping 8.5 assists per game was truly the stuff of legend.
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