The NBA has the best basketball players in the world competing night after night, but only a handful of guys can score at will against an NBA defense night in and night out. These guys are special, they are superstars, All-Stars, MVP’s and potential future Hall of Famers. These guys can score like nobodies business and this list of players will not just be based on points per game, but other stats such as their shooting percentages, usage rating, and the “eye test,” or what I can tell from watching a player on the court. This list contains what I believe to be the NBA’s most unstoppable scorers.
10. John Wall
John Wall is averaging a career best 20 PPG at this point in the season and while his team hasn’t played their best basketball this season, he is playing great. On a night-to-night basis, we can count on a John Wall coast-to-coast fastbreak layup, or for him to do a nice dribble move to make a fancy layup. I would call John an unstoppable player purely because of his athleticism alone. He is so fast that no one can keep up with him. Early in his career, John was a terrible shooter which made it easy to cover him because defenses could just back off of him and let him shoot. He shot 7% in his second season in the NBA, but now he is shooting 33%, and defenses can’t just back of him. Because of the development of his jumper, John is able to drive by defenses who cannot just back off of him anymore, so he can use his speed as a bigger advantage than before. With his athleticism and newly acquired jumpshot, John Wall is a top 10 scorer in this league because he can drive by any defender with ease.
9. Jimmy Butler
Jimmy is the leader of the Chicago Bulls, and he has embraced that role this season. He is currently the 11th leading scorer in the NBA, but when he is on, he is unstoppable. Jimmy has led the Bulls to more than one victory by scoring all by himself, including a 53 point game against the 76ers where his teammates all seemed to just watch him do his work. Like Wall, Jimmy is able to use his athleticism to get to the rim, and when he gets there, he is bigger than most shooting guards, so he is able to finish over them. Jimmy is on this list because he can score at will if he wants to, and whenever his team needs him, he can go off with ease. He doesn’t typically see an off night, and he is always able to get his points.
8. Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook is arguably the most athletic point guard in the NBA. The man can dunk on anybody he wants to, and he can also run by defenders if they get to close. Russ is also a physical point guard, and he can push around other point guards trying to guard him. He is averaging 24 PPG this season, a bit down from last year, but that is because of the return of Kevin Durant. Russ is on this list because of his ability to get his points along side another one of the leagues best scorers, but also because he is able to assist and rebound while he does that. Russell can score 50 points if he decides that he wants to, and when he does, he will still have around 10 assists and 10 rebounds in that game.
7. James Harden
James is the NBA’s second leading scorer, and his ability to drive through his defenders and get to the line helps him score a ton of points every night. Harden can be known as a ball hog, but he makes up for it by scoring bunches of points. Even on nights where he is taking shot after shot and still missing, he gets his points because of his ability to get to the free throw line. Out of Harden’s 28.8 PPG, 9 of them typically come from the free throw line. Harden has nights where he is able to just score 40 points and make it look easy. When he does score 40 points, 20 of them can come from the free throw line. I don’t know what he does, but he is always at the line, and when he is, he makes his free throws. Harden plays a lot of minutes, as he is second in the league in minutes per game, so this is another factor into how he scores 28.8 PPG. Harden is on this list because of his ability to get to the line, and how hot he can come just by making one shot.
6. Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis is arguably the best power forward in the game, and he can score easily on anybody covering him. In only his 3rd season in the league, The Brow is averaging 24 PPG, but he has developed a three-point shot that makes him that much more deadly. Defenders now have to guard him wherever he is in the half-court because he is able to hit threes now. Davis grew up a point guard, so he has the athletic ability of a smaller guy, and he uses this supreme athleticism to get by other power forwards. Standing 6 foot 10 inches, Davis is able to handle the ball like a point guard making offense easier for him when he is up against slow defenders. He likes to face up on guys, and he is able to make jump shots over defenders or muscle through them to make a layup. Davis is on this list because of his ability to score at will against any other power forward in the league.
5. Damian Lillard
Lillard is a top scorer because of his ability to score at will. Dame has scored 50 points not once, but twice now since the All-Star break. One of those games was against the Warriors where he was able to put up 51 points and also steal the ball 6 times. He can score in an abundance of ways, either by driving by you with extreme speed, pulling up for three and draining it in a players face, or dribbling around a guy in order to get by them for a mid-range jumper or layup. Damian can score at any time he wants, and his ability to flat out put up points and carry a team on his back is what makes him a supreme scorer in the NBA.
4. DeMarcus Cousins
DeMarcus is able to manhandle any guy he goes up against. He is 6″11′ and 270 lbs (20 more than Anthony Davis), and his size makes him nearly impossible to stop. He is currently the leagues 4th leading scorer, but his ability to score from anywhere is what makes him so great. Boogie has a phenomenal low post game, and he will post up any opposing center and find a way to score. He can make mid-range jump shots when his teammates set him up for them, and he can hit a three whenever he thinks he is open enough to take it. He puts up 30 or more points all the time, and he has even gone off to score 56 points against the Hornets. On the night before, he also put up 48 points in a win over the Pacers. Most scorers in the NBA are guards or wings who can slash by defenders to the rim or pull up and hit threes, but Cousins is the NBA’s biggest post threat and is no player in the league can stop him easily.
3. LeBron James
LeBron is widely regarded as the best player in the NBA because of his ability to literally do it all. He can score, rebound, pass, play good defense, and run the floor. LeBron is huge, but his size doesn’t take away from his speed. He is one of the league’s fastest players, and when he is running at top speed he is like a freight train. He is also one of, if not the strongest players in the NBA. Example: when he blocked Tiago Splitter’s dunk attempt on him without any momentum at all in game 2 of the 2013 Finals against the Spurs. He is able to use his strength to push around defenders and score in whatever way he wants. This is LeBron’s world, and we are just living in it. LeBron can score 50 or more points whenever he chooses to, but he doesn’t because he is able to get all of his teammates involved in the offense as well. You have to know though that when Cleveland needs points, LeBron will score and he will do it in whatever way that he wants. He is just too strong for most players, and the guys that are stronger than him aren’t fast enough to keep up with him.
2. Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant is long, tall, and extremely athletic. Durant can shoot like a point guard, run like a shooting guard, has the height of a power forward, and he is extremely long. Durant is 6″9′ but most people think he is more like 6″10′ or 11′. He is taller than just about anybody who guards him, and if someone is taller than him is covering him, he can drive by them. When guarding Durant, you have two options: let him get by you and score two points or back off and let him hit a three. There is no in between. He is too tall and long for most players to even attempt to guard. Even when a guy seems to be locking him down, he will score 25 points at least. If a guy is right up on him, he can still pull up from three and just shoot right over a defender. He is unstoppable because of his ability to shoot the basketball and put the ball on the floor and get two points however he wants to. In terms of Usage Rating, he is 4 points behind his teammate Russell Westbrook but he still scores 4 more PPG than Russ. KD is unstoppable, and his scoring abilities put him as second on this list.
1. Stephen Curry
Chef Curry leaves everybody speechless daily. He always does something insane to score. You have to pick Curry up as soon as he crosses half-court, because he will shoot the ball from 40 feet away from the basket and still make it easily. The reigning MVP is unstoppable because he can make a shot from any spot on the court, he can dribble by any defender, and he will make any shot that he really wants to. If Curry wants to score, he very likely will. There is no answer for Curry. On an off night, he scores 25 points. On an on night, he scores 55 points. He doesn’t even need to get to the free throw line to score 50. Against the Magic, he scored 51 points and only made one free throw. He scored 50 points from the floor, and he is ridiculous at shooting threes. He is the best shooter in the NBA, and he can hit threes one after one. He doesn’t miss often, and Curry doesn’t seem to have an off button.
