The FIBA Basketball World Cup Top Scorer, although not an official award given by

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

, represents the player who led FIBA Basketball World Cup in points scored per game (regardless of number of games played in tournament). The tournament's leader in total points scored is also noted.

History

Álvaro Salvadores Álvaro Salvadores Salvi (born 12 October 1928 in Chile – died 13 April 2002 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia) was a Chilean-Spaniard basketball player who competed at the 1950 FIBA World Championship in the Spain national team, and at t ...

, of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, was the leading scorer by points per game, of the first FIBA World Cup (then called the FIBA World Championship), the 1950 FIBA World Championship, which was held in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Rufino Bernedo Rufino "Chico" Bernedo Zorzano (21 December 1926 – 3 February 2006) was a Chilean basketball player. At a height of 1.72 m (5'7 ") tall, he played at the small forward position. He is generally considered to be the best Chilean basketbal ...

, led that same tournament in total points scored, with 86. At the 1954 event, it was

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Oscar Moglia Oscar Aldo Moglia Eiras (February 1, 1935 – October 8, 1989) was a basketball player from Uruguay. He was Jewish. Club career During his club career, Moglia played with the Uruguayan team Club Atlético Welcome. He won five Uruguayan Fe ...

, that led in scoring, with an average of 18.7 points per game. He was followed in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

James T. L. Chen Chen Tsu-li (), also known as James T. L. Chen, (born 28 May 1933) is a Taiwanese former basketball player and basketball coach, coach. National team playing career Chen competed as a part of the Taiwan national basketball team, Republic of Ch ...

, of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

(Taiwan), who led in points per game, at 20.1, and

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

Jerry Vayda Jerome Joseph Vayda (July 18, 1934 – February 16, 1978) was an American basketball player. At a height of 6'4" (1.93 m) tall, he played at the small forward position. College career Vayda attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ...

, who was first in total points scored, with 162. In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

, the lead scorer was

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

's Ricardo Duarte, who had an average of 23.1 points per game.

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

's Mieczysław Łopatka, led in scoring average in 1967, at 19.7 points per game, while his teammate,

Bohdan Likszo Bohdan Stanisław Likszo (alternate spelling: Bogdan) (1 January 1940 in Vilnius (Wilno), Soviet occupated Poland – 11 December 1993 in Kraków) was a Polish professional basketball player. At a height of 1.99 m (6'6 ") tall, and a weight ...

, led in total points scored, at 180. They were followed by

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

's Shin Dong-pa, who averaged 32.6 points per game in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Arturo Guerrero Arturo Guerrero Moreno (born 30 August 1948) is a Mexican former basketball player and coach. With Mexico's senior national team, he played at two Summer Olympic Games (1968 and 1976). Due to his shooting ability, he was nicknamed "Mano Santa ...

, who averaged 27.0 points per game in 1974, was that competition's leader in scoring average, while

Wayne Brabender Wayne Donald Brabender Cole (born October 16, 1945) is an American-born Spanish retired professional basketball player and coach. He acquired Spanish citizenship in 1968, relinquishing his U.S. citizenship to qualify for the Spanish national t ...

, led in total points scored, with 207. At the next competition, in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, it was Kamil Brabenec of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, that was the leader in scoring average, at 26.9 points per game, while

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Dražen Dalipagić Dražen "Praja" Dalipagić (; born 27 November 1951) is a Serbian former professional basketball player and head coach. He was selected the best athlete of Yugoslavia in the year 1978, and is one of the most decorated athletes in Yugoslavian his ...

led the same competition in total points scored, with 202.

Rolando Frazer Rolando Frazer Thorne (born July 3, 1958 in Panama City, Panama) is a Panamanian former professional basketball player. At a height of 6'7" (2.01 m) tall, he played at the power forward and center positions. He was an inaugural inductee of the ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, was first in scoring average at the 1982 FIBA World Championship, in which he averaged 24.4 points per game, while Yugoslavia's

Dragan Kićanović Dragan Kićanović ( sr, Драган Кићановић; born 17 August 1953) is a Serbian and Yugoslav retired professional basketball player. A 1.92m (6 ft 3 in) tall shooting guard, Kićanović played in the 1970s and 1980s, and is cons ...

, was first in total points scored, with 190 points.

Nikos Galis Nikolaos Georgalis ( el, Νικόλαος Γεωργαλής; born July 23, 1957), commonly known as either Nikos Galis ( el, Νίκος Γκάλης), or Nick Galis, is a retired Greek professional basketball player. Galis, who during his playin ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, led the

1986 FIBA World Championship The 1986 FIBA World Championship was the 10th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Spain and was held from 5 to 20 July 1986. The final phase of the tournament was held at the ...

in scoring. After Galis,

Oscar Schmidt Oscar Daniel Bezerra Schmidt (born February 16, 1958) is a retired Brazilian professional basketball player. He is also commonly known as Oscar Schmidt in Spain, where he played for Fórum Valladolid for the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons, ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, led the 1990 FIBA World Championship in scoring. Schmidt was followed by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Andrew Gaze Andrew Barry Casson Gaze (born 24 July 1965) is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach. He played 22 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Melbourne Tigers from 1984 to 2005, winning the league's MVP a ...

, who was the leading scorer of the 1994 FIBA World Championship. After Gaze, it was Spain's

Alberto Herreros Alberto Herreros Ros (born 20 April 1969) is a retired Spanish professional basketball player. He is considered to be one of the best Spanish basketball players and shooters of all-time. At a height of 2.00 m (6'6 ") tall, he played at the small f ...

, who was the leading scorer of the 1998 FIBA World Championship. Herreros was followed by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gre ...

, who led the 2002 edition in scoring.

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

's Yao Ming, led the 2006 edition in scoring average, as he averaged 25.3 points per game, while Dirk Nowitzki of Germany was first in total points scored, with 209 points.

Luis Scola Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa (born April 30, 1980) is an Argentine former professional basketball player and current executive who currently serves as the chief executive officer for the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) team Pallacanestro Varese. ...

, led the 2010 edition in scoring. J. J. Barea of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, led the 2014 FIBA World Cup in points per game, with a scoring average of 22.0 points per game. At the same event,

Pau Gasol Pau Gasol Sáez (, ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol won two NBA champion ...

of Spain was the leader in total points scored, with 140 points. To date, no player has been the World Basketball Cup's leading scorer by points per game in more than one competition. However, Dirk Nowitzki led the tournament in total points scored twice, in the 2002 and 2006 competitions.