Most Turnovers in NBA History by Player
1. Karl Malone - 4,524
Karl Malone turned the ball over an all-time high of 4,524 times in his 19 year NBA career. He only led the league once in a season in turnovers, and his being number one on the list is mainly because he played so many games in his career. Still, he averaged 3.1 turnovers per game.
For comparison purposes, that is about the same average number of turnovers per game that Dwight Howard has so far in his career.
In the playoffs, Malone averaged 2.85 turnovers per game. A much better rate than he had during regular season play.
2. John Stockton - 4,244
Malone's long-time Utah Jazz teammate, John Stockton, is number two all-time in turnovers with 4,244. Stockton also had a very long career, and that is mainly why he is on this list. Stockton averaged 2.82 turnovers per game, which is the lowest per game turnover rate on this list.
Stockton averaged 2.84 turnovers per playoff game in his career. Just about the same rate as during regular season play.
3. Jason Kidd(notes) - 3,836
So far in his career, Jason Kidd has 3,836 turnovers in his career. Kidd has played in 1,267 games and has averaged 3.03 turnovers per game played. Kidd has led the league twice in turnovers so far in his career, including in 2001-02 when he played for my Nets team.
In the playoffs in his career, Jason Kidd is averaging 3.02 turnovers per game. In both 2002 and 2003, Kidd led my Nets to the NBA Finals. He turned the ball over 146 total times in 40 games in the playoffs over those two years. That's 3.70 turnovers per playoff game. The Nets lost both times in the finals, but we were never sniffing the NBA Finals those two years without the great play of Jason Kidd.
In the 2011 post-season, Jason Kidd has just 25 turnovers in 10 games played. His Dallas Mavericks shocked the NBA by sweeping the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers right out of the playoffs.
4. Moses Malone - 3,804
Moses Malone turned the ball over 3,804 times in 1,329 NBA games. So his turnover average per game was 3.05. Malone was a great playoff competitor, and in the NBA playoffs he turned the ball over 215 times in 94 games. A 2.29 average, which is much better than his regular season average. Clearly, Malone was more careful, and more efficient, with the basketball in the playoffs.
5. Isiah Thomas - 3,682
Isiah Thomas turned the ball over 3,682 times in his career in 979 games played. So he averaged 3.76 turnovers per game. That is the second highest total on this list. Isiah was a bit more careful with the ball in the playoffs (369 turnovers in 111 playoff games), averaging 3.32 turnovers per game.
6. Hakeem Olajuwon - 3,667
Hakeem Olajuwon turned the ball over 3,667 times in 1,238 games played. So he averaged 2.96 turnovers per game. In the playoffs, Hakeem turned the ball over 424 times in 145 games, for a an average of 2.92. Just about the same as during regular season play.
7. Patrick Ewing - 3,537
Patrick Ewing turned the ball over 3,537 times in 1,183 games played, for an average of 2.99 turnovers per game. In the playoffs, Ewing turned the ball over 345 times in 139 games, for an average of 2.48 per game. So Ewing was more carefull with the basketball in playoffs, but still never won an NBA Championship despite all his guarantees.
8. Magic Johnson - 3,506
Magic Johnson turned the ball over 3,506 times in 906 games played. His average per game of 3.87 is the highest on this list. In the playoffs, Magic averaged 3.66 turnovers per game. A better rate than during regular season play, but still high. All the turnovers didn't stop Magic from winning five NBA Championships, and being named NBA Finals MVP three times.
9. Reggie Theus - 3,493
Reggie Theus was a pretty good NBA player, who turned the ball over a lot. Theus had 3,493 turnovers in 1,026 NBA games, for an average of 3.40 turnovers per game. He also averaged 18.5 points and 6.3 assists per game. Theus scored 19,015 points in his NBA career, but is unlikely to ever make the Basketball Hall of Fame. He finished his NBA career playing for the Nets, and I remember him as a player in love with his looks.
10. Charles Barkley - 3,376
Charles Barkley turned the ball over 3,376 times in 1,073 NBA games. So he averaged 3.15 turnovers per game. In the playoffs, Barkley averaged 2.87 turnovers per game.
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