Who Has Missed the Most Shots in NBA History? Two Lakers Stars Top the Chart of Unwanted Record

With 22 years of excellence comes a catalog of records. Currently, LeBron James holds the most coveted NBA record, the mantle of being the man with the most points. However, to get there, it takes many shots. Additionally, over two decades, James has managed to miss many shots too. But does anybody else have more misses than the King? Coincidentally, it happens to be another Laker.

That happens to be Kobe Bryant, a Purple and Gold icon who also managed to play 20 years of decorated basketball. Many believe he had a tendency to take most shots. However, that wasn’t the truth. It simply came down to how his teammates responded to his passes. “If you missed a couple shots, when he kicked it out to you, he’ll tell your a**,” a former teammate of his said.

Furthermore, he had a supernatural level of confidence. And even though he played over 100 games more than James, Bryant had the most missed field goals at 14,481. That changed tonight. In the Lakers’ season opener, the Akron Hammer, as he does with every record that tends to fail the test of time, officially took over the Mamba’s record.

Against the Timberwolves, LeBron James needed five misses to hold the unwanted record. Being the first game of the season, the 39-year-old experienced some rust and missed 8 of his 14 attempts in the win against the Timberwolves.

Kobe Bryant didn’t care about missing shots

Proof of Bryant’s unbreakable mindset came about very early in his career. In 1997, he shot four consecutive airballs against the Utah Jazz in the playoffs. Still young at the time, those misses didn’t discourage him. The Mamba became curious to understand the reason for his shortcomings. Eventually, he did.

And over his career, his shot-making ability became a folk tale in NBA circles. To achieve such heroics, though, doesn’t happen by being practical. Bryant was as imaginative and bold, even taking a shot against five defenders. Late in his career, he was questioned about his record for the most missed attempts.

Not only did he account for his 19 years, but the five-time NBA champion didn’t see much wrong in it. After all, he saw his idol do something more ludicrous than any such instance. “Nah, I don’t follow that stuff, man… I remember when I was a kid, and I watched Michael Jordan shoot 49 times in an NBA Finals game. Can you imagine if I did that and lost? Puts things in perspective,” he said in an interview. 

Doesn’t look like LeBron James will bat an eye either. He might have missed the most field goals. Considering he is the only player with 30k points to shoot over 50% in the three-point era, the Akron Hammer won’t mind missing some more.