In the Denver Nuggets come from behind victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night, Russell Westbrook became #22 on the all-time NBA scoring list, surpassing Alex English in the process. Westbrook entered the game just 2 points behind English’s 25,613 NBA total point count. With the 9 points he scored in SAS, Russ brought his total up to 25,620.
Alex English is famously the highest scoring NBA player through the 1980s, recording 21,108 of his 25,613 in that decade. He finished above other NBA legends like Moses Malone (19,082), Adrian Dantley (18,157), and Larry Bird (17,899).
Meanwhile, Westbrook did most of his damage in the 2010s decade, where he was 4th in the NBA in total points scored with 17,603. The only players above him in the 2010s were fellow NBA MVPs and former teammates LeBron James (19,550), Kevin Durant (19,445), and James Harden (18,427).
Westbrook may be top 20 in points scored by end of season
After passing Alex English in points scored in NBA history, Westbrook can now have his eyes set on passing up another player or two by the end of the 2024-2025 regular season. Vince Carter is currently 21st in NBA history with 25,728 points and Kevin Garnett is currently 20th with 26,071 points.
While Westbrook looks fully set to pass up Vince Carter’s mark in the next 10-15 games. Assuming that Westbrook can maintain his 12.0 PPG average so far this season, he also has a good chance of catching Garnett as well. At his current scoring output, he would only need to appear in 38/47 of the remaining regular season games to pass Garnett at #20.
At the same time, if his scoring averages dip a bit after Aaron Gordon returns for the Nuggets (let’s say 10 PPG the rest of the season), then Westbrook would need to appear in 46/47 regular season games to pass Garnett.
Regardless, Westbrook has made his legacy known as a top-25 scorer of all time and will look to continue adding to his 25,620 points on Tuesday night against the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics.
