Bobby Portis recently included Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards in his list of ‘purest scorers’ in the modern NBA. Edwards recently made his return after a six-game absence due to pain in his right knee. The four-time All-Star put up 17 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds, helping Minnesota to a 124-94 win against the Dallas Mavericks.
Bobby Portis Discusses the Purest Scorers in NBA History and Today
On the “Run It Back NBA Show” on FanDuel TV with Michelle Beadle, Chandler Parsons, and Lou Williams, Portis said that Jordan is undoubtedly the best scorer in the history of the league because he retired as the third-leading scorer of all time while playing less time.
Jordan played 15 seasons in the league, and Portis highlighted that during Jordan’s era, three-pointers were few and far between.
“Michael Jordan’s the best pure scorer, just because he played 13, 14 years, like he was top three before LeBron, KD, and Kobe, and these guys passed him up. Playing 14 games, shooting basically all twos. He wasn’t shooting a lot of threes. I mean, he was getting real baskets,” Portis said.
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In the same conversation, Portis also highlighted Kevin Durant, Edwards, and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Gilgeous-Alexander as the elite scorers in today’s game. Portis named his top three scorers based on how easy they make it look at times.
“In today’s era, most pure scorers just got to be KD, SGA, and Anthony Edwards. Those [are] like the top 3 guys when it comes to getting baskets, in which the way they do it and how effortless they make it look.”
Durant is one of the greatest and most efficient scorers of all time, and his place in NBA history is undoubtedly cemented in that regard. He also recently surpassed Jordan for fifth on the all-time NBA points scoring list, accomplishing the feat in the 123-122 win against the Miami Heat on March 21.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Edwards, on the other hand, are great scorers who are just reaching the primes of their careers, fresh off their respective teams facing each other in the 2025 Western Conference Finals.
In that series, Edwards averaged 23.0 points and 4.6 assists per game, while Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.4 points and 8.2 assists, winning the Western Conference Finals MVP as Oklahoma City won in five games.
This season, Edwards is averaging 29.5 points (third in the NBA) on 49.2% from the field and 40.2% from the three-point line, while Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 31.4 points per game (second in the NBA) while shooting 55.3% from the floor.
Portis believes that Durant has the legacy, but SGA and Ant are the future all-time great scorers.
