In basketball, points are accumulated through free throws or field goals. The National Basketball League's (NBL) scoring title is awarded to the player with the highest points per game average in a given season. The scoring title was originally determined by total points scored through the 1996 season, after which points per game was used to determine the leader instead. Players who earned scoring titles before the 1984 season did not record any three-point field goals because the three-point line had just been implemented in the NBL at the start of that season.
Andrew Gaze has won the most scoring titles, with 14. He also holds the all-time records for total points scored (1,007; 1991) and points per game (44.1; 1987) in a season. Between 1986 and 2001, Gaze was the leader in either total points or points per game every season. While he led the NBL in points per game in 1987 (44.1) and 1990 (37.6), he was not the leader in total points scored. His 882 total points in 1987 were third best behind Paul Stanley (920) and James Crawford (903), while his 828 points in 1990 were also third best behind Derek Rucker (865) and Wayne McDaniel (848).
Key Denotes player who won the Most Valuable Player award that yearPlayer (X)Denotes the number of times the player had been the scoring leader up to and including that seasonGGuardFForwardCCenter
Scoring leaders
Season Player Pos Nationality Team Games played Total pointsRef 1979 Cal Bruton G Brisbane Bullets 18 597 1980 Rocky Smith G St. Kilda Saints 22 737 1981 Mike Jones F/C Illawarra Hawks 22 671 1982 Reg Biddings F Adelaide City Eagles 26 782 1983 Mike Jones (2) F/C Illawarra Hawks 22 719 1984 Al Green G West Adelaide Bearcats 21 829 1985 Kendal Pinder F/C Sydney Supersonics 26 871 1986 Andrew Gaze G Melbourne Tigers 25 922 1987 Paul Stanley F Hobart Devils 26 920 1988 Andrew Gaze (2) G Melbourne Tigers 24 886 1989 Andrew Gaze (3) G Melbourne Tigers 24 831 1990 Derek Rucker G Brisbane Bullets 25 865 1991 Andrew Gaze (4) G Melbourne Tigers 26 1,007 1992 Andrew Gaze (5) G Melbourne Tigers 23 811 1993 Andrew Gaze (6) G Melbourne Tigers 26 858 1994 Andrew Gaze (7) G Melbourne Tigers 26 890 1995 Andrew Gaze (8) G Melbourne Tigers 26 900 1996 Andrew Gaze (9) G Melbourne Tigers 26 843
Season Player Pos Nationality Team Games played Points per gameRef 1997 Andrew Gaze (10) G Melbourne Tigers 30 31.5 1998 Andrew Gaze (11) G Melbourne Tigers 30 31.8 1998–99 Andrew Gaze (12) G Melbourne Tigers 17 33.5 1999–00 Andrew Gaze (13) G Melbourne Tigers 28 28.9 2000–01 Andrew Gaze (14) G Melbourne Tigers 27 29.1 2001–02 Randy Rutherford G Brisbane Bullets 30 25.0 2002–03 John Rillie G West Sydney Razorbacks 16 23.6 2003–04 Matthew Nielsen F Sydney Kings 33 23.5 2004–05 Brian Wethers G/F Hunter Pirates 32 24.3 2005–06 Cortez Groves G Wollongong Hawks 32 24.1 2006–07 Carlos Powell F New Zealand Breakers 33 28.2 2007–08 Ebi Ere G/F Brisbane Bullets 29 27.1 2008–09 Kirk Penney G/F New Zealand Breakers 28 24.2 2009–10 Kirk Penney (2) G/F New Zealand Breakers 19 23.2 2010–11 Kirk Penney (3) G/F New Zealand Breakers 23 20.1 2011–12 Kevin Lisch G Perth Wildcats 28 17.6 2012–13 Ben Madgen G/F Sydney Kings 28 17.9 2013–14 Chris Goulding G Melbourne Tigers 27 23.0 2014–15 Josh Childress F Sydney Kings 18 21.1 2015–16 Jerome Randle G Adelaide 36ers 23 23.0 2016–17 Bryce Cotton G Perth Wildcats 11 22.1 2017–18 Jerome Randle (2) G Sydney Kings 19 19.8 2018–19 Bryce Cotton (2) G Perth Wildcats 25 22.5 2019–20 Bryce Cotton (3) G Perth Wildcats 27 22.6 2020–21 Bryce Cotton (4) G Perth Wildcats 32 23.5 2021–22 Bryce Cotton (5) G Perth Wildcats 28 22.7 2022–23 Bryce Cotton (6) G Perth Wildcats 28 23.5 2023–24 Bryce Cotton (7) G Perth Wildcats 27 23.1 2024–25 Bryce Cotton (8) G Perth Wildcats 24 28.6 2025–26 Bryce Cotton (9) G Adelaide 36ers 32 25.7
Multiple-time leaders RankingPlayerTeamTimes leaderYears1Andrew GazeMelbourne Tigers141986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 20012Bryce CottonPerth Wildcats (8) / Adelaide 36ers (1)92017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 20263Kirk PenneyNew Zealand Breakers32009, 2010, 20114Mike JonesIllawarra Hawks21981, 1983Jerome RandleAdelaide 36ers (1) / Sydney Kings (1)2016, 2018
Notes
References