Who Has the Most Turnovers in NBA History?

Russell Westbrook playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in March 2022 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
(Wikimedia Commons/Erik Drost)
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  • LeBron James has the most turnovers in NBA history.
  • The most turnovers James has committed in a season is 347.
  • Michael Jordan had 2,924 turnovers in his career.

Points and assists come in bunches for some of the best players in NBA history, but a bunch of turnovers come in between.

Fans who like to bet on basketball might see the players they picked for their NBA parlays commit a few too many giveaways, whether they chose the over or under for points or assists.

With that said, who has the most turnovers in NBA history? Let’s find out as of Dec. 6, 2024.

Most Turnovers in NBA History

RankPlayerTurnovers
1LeBron James5,301
2Russell Westbrook4,634
3Karl Malone4,524
4John Stockton4,244
5James Harden4,024
6Kobe Bryant4,010
7Jason Kidd4,003
8Moses Malone3,804
9Isiah Thomas3,682
10Hakeem Olajuwon3,667
11Patrick Ewing3,537
12Paul Pierce3,532
13Magic Johnson3,506
14Reggie Theus3,493
15Steve Nash3,478

Which Player Has the Most Turnovers in NBA History?

LeBron James has the most turnovers in NBA history.

James may have racked up the most turnovers in league history, but that’s just a by-product of continuously initiating the offence as both a high-level scorer and playmaker each game.

The four-time MVP committed his most turnovers (347) in a season during the 2017-18 season when he was tasked with carrying an even heavier load following the trade of Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics without many reinforcements coming back.

Amazingly, James still got his Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals for a fourth straight season, though the Golden State Warriors swept them in four games.

How Many Turnovers Did Michael Jordan Have?

Michael Jordan had 2,924 turnovers in his career.

Jordan committed his most turnovers (291) in a season during the 1984-85 campaign, his rookie year.

MJ had under 200 turnovers in each season of the Chicago Bulls’ second three-peat, helping solidify their short championship basketball odds at a sportsbook.

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