Michael Jordan’s 759 Points Are the NBA Playoff-Run Record
Michael Jordan scored a record 759 points in the 1992 NBA playoffs. See the closest challengers, his shooting breakdown and why games played matter.
Michael Jordan holds the record for the most total points in a single NBA playoff run: 759 for the Chicago Bulls in 1992. He scored them in 22 games, averaging 34.5 points per game. LeBron James came closest with 748 points in 2018, an 11-point gap. NBA.com confirms those totals, and Jordan remains first on the single-postseason leaderboard through the 2026 playoffs.
Here, a playoff run means one player’s cumulative scoring across every round of one postseason—not one game, one series or an entire playoff career. Regular-season points are excluded. For the separate one-game question, see the NBA playoff single-game scoring record.
The highest-scoring NBA playoff runs
These are the five largest individual postseason totals through 2026, using Basketball-Reference’s NBA-only leaderboard. The year identifies the playoffs, so Jordan’s 1992 entry belongs to the 1991–92 season. Source: single-season playoff points leaders.
| Rank | Player | Playoff year | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Jordan | 1992 | 759 |
| 2 | LeBron James | 2018 | 748 |
| 3 | Kawhi Leonard | 2019 | 732 |
| 4 | Hakeem Olajuwon | 1995 | 725 |
| 5 | Allen Iverson | 2001 | 723 |
James’s challenge is especially close because he also played 22 games: his 748 points produced exactly 34.0 points per game, versus Jordan’s 34.5. The difference was only half a point per game over an equal-length run. James’s playoff statistics.
How Jordan reached 759
Chicago’s championship route included a three-game sweep of Miami, seven games against New York, six against Cleveland and six against Portland in the Finals. That added up to 22 games across four rounds. 1992 playoff results.
Jordan’s scoring came from:
- 273 made two-pointers: 546 points
- 17 made three-pointers: 51 points
- 162 made free throws: 162 points
The calculation is 546 + 51 + 162 = 759. His postseason totals also show 581 field-goal attempts and 189 free-throw attempts, with shooting percentages of 49.9% from the field and 85.7% at the line. Jordan’s playoff totals.
That breakdown matters: this was not a three-point-driven record. Jordan generated most of his points inside the arc, supported by substantial free-throw scoring and a workload of 26.4 field-goal attempts per game.
Why games played matter
A cumulative record rewards both scoring rate and opportunity. Advancing creates more games; a long series adds scoring chances, while a sweep removes them. Jordan’s 1992 first round required three wins, whereas James’s 2018 first round required four—one reason playoff format belongs in cross-era comparisons. 1992 results; 2018 results.
The total is not adjusted for pace, minutes, shot volume or efficiency. It answers who scored the most, not automatically who had the best offensive postseason.
To break Jordan’s record, a player needs 760 points. That would require approximately 34.55 points per game over 22 games, or 31.67 over 24 games. Those calculated thresholds show why both a high scoring average and a deep, lengthy run are important.