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LeBron James is the all-time leader with the most turnovers in NBA playoff history, but after playing so long and leading his team to the NBA Finals 10 times, it’s understandable.
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14 players with at least 500 turnovers in the playoffs. Two of the top 14 players are active players who could make the playoffs this year and break into the top 10 based on playoff performance. James Harden ranks 11th with 520 postseason turnovers in 149 games, while Durant has 501 postseason turnovers in 155 games. Only one player is active in the 500 turnover club and he holds that record by a wide margin.
LeBron James has the most turnovers in the playoffs, but that comes with territory. After all, when you reach 10 NBA Finals in your career, it means you have plenty of opportunities to get the ball in your hands. Having said that, some other players played almost as much and took care of the ball. When you compare the numbers, you might be surprised who has the most turnovers in NBA playoff history compared to LeBron.
10. Michael Jordan – 546 turnovers (3.1 per game)
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Jordan has averaged more than 4.0 turnovers per game three times in his playoff career. The first time was in the 1986 playoffs, when he averaged 43.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists. This also comes with an average of 4.7 turnovers per game. The second time was during the 1989 playoffs, when he averaged 4.0 turnovers per game. His numbers include 34.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists.
The last time was in the 1995 playoffs, the year he returned. Jordan wasn’t hitting full steam ahead, but still averaged 31.5 points per game in the playoffs. Jordan’s 4.1 turnovers combined with 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. His turnover rate was close to 4.0 during the 1988 playoffs, when he averaged 3.9, and during his rookie season in 1985, when he averaged 3.8.
9. Karl Malone – 550 turnovers (2.9 per game)
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Given that Malone and Jordan met in two NBA Finals, it’s crazy to think that Malone beat Jordan by just four turnovers. Malone made at least 4.0 turnovers 3 times. The first time was during the 1989 playoffs, when he averaged 4.3 turnovers per game. That’s 30.7 points and 16.3 rebounds. He averaged 4.0 turnovers per game in the 1993 and 2003 playoffs.
His best year came when he averaged 1.5 turnovers per game in his rookie season. When Malone reached the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, he averaged 2.7 turnovers per game and 3.0 turnovers per game. Malone was close to four turnovers in the 2001 playoffs, but ended up averaging 3.8 turnovers per game.
8. Dwyane Wade – 583 turnovers (3.3 per game)
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When Wade was the Heat’s primary ball handler, he was pretty careless with the ball. When you have a guy averaging more than 27.0 points per game over two years, that’s definitely going to happen. In his rookie season, Wade averaged 4.2 turnovers per game. This was followed by his 4.4 turnovers in his second year. When the Heat won the 2006 title and Wade was the Finals MVP, he averaged 3.9 turnovers per game. The team’s title defense was not smooth, and Wade averaged 5.8 turnovers per game in the playoffs, a career high.
Wade averaged more than 5.0 turnovers for the second time in the 2010 playoffs, when he averaged 5.2, but he scored a career-high 33.2 points. When LeBron James came to town, Wade had 3.0, 3.0, 2.6 and 2.7 turnovers over the team’s four years in the NBA Finals.
7. Tony Parker – 594 turnovers (2.6 per game)
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It’s a nod to his number of playoff appearances for the Spurs. Parker made the playoffs every season from 2002 to 2018. Only once in that span has he averaged more than 4.0 turnovers per game. That was during the 2009 playoffs, when he averaged a career-high 28.6 points and 6.8 assists per d4.2.
For the most part, Parker is pretty docile with someone who is the team’s primary ball handler. Parker’s second-highest turnover rate was his 3.3 turnovers per game, which he did in the 2007 and 2011 playoffs. In the 2007 playoffs, Parker was named Finals MVP.
6. Scottie Pippen – 602 turnovers (2.8 per game)
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Six players had at least 600 career turnovers in the playoffs. Scottie Pippen played a few more years in the league than Jordan, so his total should be higher. Jordan didn’t play in the 1994 Bulls playoffs, then left the league for three seasons. During that time, Pippen played in the 1999 playoffs with the Rockets and then in the 2000 and 2001 playoffs with the Trail Blazers.
Thanks to his longevity, Pippen was rewarded for accumulating turnovers. Pippen never had more than 3.4 turnovers in the playoffs. He averaged 2.4 turnovers in 1990 and then again in 1995. Pippen averaged at least 3.0 turnovers or more seven times. Not too bad considering he’s not the team’s point guard.
5. Tim Duncan – 633 turnovers (2.5 per game)
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From 1998 to 2016, Duncan made the playoffs every season. It was one of the greatest performances from a player we’ve ever seen. The five-time champion is in the top 5, but he’s the player you should be keeping an eye on. As we get closer to the record for turnovers in the playoffs, it should be noted that Duncan played 251 postseason games. LeBron played in 266 playoff games. Granted, more of the ball is in LeBron’s hands, but we’re talking about Duncan’s legendary player after all.
Duncan averaged over 4.0 turnovers twice. The first time he averaged 4.1 points in the 2002 playoffs. He also averaged 27.6 points, 14.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.3 blocks per game. Duncan averaged 4.2 turnovers per game in the 2004 playoffs, when he was also averaging 22.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. His best playoff performance came in 2014 when he averaged 1.1 turnovers per game when he won his fifth championship. Duncan could rely on Kawhi Leonard at the time, but he also contributed 17.9 points and 11.1 rebounds.
4. Kobe Bryant – 647 turnovers (2.9 per game)
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Bryant averaged over 4.0 turnovers twice. It was the post-O’Neal era of back-to-back seasons. Bryant averaged 4.7 turnovers during the 2006 playoffs and then 4.4 turnovers in the 2007 playoffs. The second superstar helped a lot when the Lakers brought Pau Gasol to the team. Bryant averaged 3.3 turnovers per game in 2008, 2.6 turnovers per game in 2009 and 3.4 turnovers per game in 2010. In the past three years, the Lakers have entered the NBA Finals, and Kobe became the Finals MVP when the team won the championship in 2009 and 2010.
The Lakers also won three championships from 2000 to 2002. During that time, the Lakers relied heavily on Shaquille O’Neal. Bryant averaged 2.5, 3.2 and 2.8 turnovers in those championship games. The Lakers also reached the NBA Finals in 2004, and Bryant averaged 2.8 turnovers per game.
3. Shaquille O’Neal – 649 turnovers (3.0 per game)
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O’Neal reached the NBA Finals six times in his career, representing three different teams. He made his Magic debut in 1995. It was his second year in the league, and he even beat Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the series. O’Neal averaged 3.5 turnovers per game during that time. He eventually joined the Lakers and helped the team win three championships between 2000 and 2002. During that time, O’Neal won three consecutive Finals MVPs. He also averaged 2.4, 3.6 and 3.3 turnovers.
The Lakers also participated in the 2004 NBA Finals. O’Neal averaged 2.5 turnovers per game during that time. He joined the Heat the following season, and the team reached the NBA Finals in 2006. O’Neal averaged 3.7 turnovers per game, which tied his career low in the 1996 playoffs. O’Neal has never averaged more than 4.0 turnovers per game, which is incredible considering he has three postseason games in which he has averaged more than 30.0 turnovers per game.
2. Magic Johnson – 696 turnovers (3.7 per game)
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If Jonson didn’t have to retire early, he might have reached 1,000 turnovers in his playoff career. Four years of playoff minutes would have gotten him far in the playoffs. In the end, Johnson remained in second place. The “Showtime” Lakers are hosted by Johnson. The team won five championships in the 1980s, one of the greatest decades in franchise history.
Johnson has five postseason turnovers of at least 4.0 or better. He had 4.1 turnovers in his first playoff experience in 1980. He hit 4.3 turnovers in the 1983 playoffs, then 4.0 in 1985. His last two hits were 4.0 and 4.1 in the 1991 playoffs. Johnson had only one year in which he averaged fewer than 3.0 turnovers per game. That was in 1987, when he averaged 2.8 turnovers per game.
1. LeBron James – 975 turnovers (3.7 per game)
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It depends on how you want to rotate it. You could say LeBron is the worst ballhandler, or you could admit that he’s been to the NBA Finals ten times in his career. If you do the math, that’s a lot of games, especially when some of those teams have James as the only lead. James has won 266 playoff games compared to Jordan’s 179. That’s a gap of 87 games.
In his first playoff experience, James averaged 30.8 points per game on 5.0 turnovers. He settled down after that and made it to the NBA Finals in 2007. He averaged 3.3 turnovers per game. James then averaged 4.2 turnovers per game in the 2008 playoffs. From 2011 to 2014, James reached the NBA Finals every year with the Heat. During that time, he won two championships and was a Finals MVP in 2012 and 2013, averaging 3.1, 3.5, 3.0 and 3.1 turnovers per game. He then made it to the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers every year between 2015 and 2018. He averaged 4.1, 3.6, 4.0 and 4.3 turnovers over that stretch. James won the Finals MVP when the team won the championship in 2016. He returned to the title with the Lakers in 2020 with 4.0 turnovers per game, while also averaging 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists. Finally, his usage rate has been high, which means turnovers are coming.
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