It’s been a long-time coming, but Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has finally passed another franchise legend in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Abdul-Jabbar’s previous mark, which stood for more than 38 years, was 38,387 points.
Although he’s not really known to be a scorer, LeBron is now the greatest to ever step on a basketball court when it comes to putting the ball in the hoop. He has a career scoring average of over 27 points and is in his 20th season of greatness, perhaps currently putting out his best scoring effort at over 30 points per game for L.A.
That longevity, along with an ability to score from pretty much anywhere on the court, is what brought James to this incredible moment.
James broke the record during the Lakers’ game on Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena. He came into the game needing 36 points to break the record and did so in the third quarter when he hit his patented fadeaway jumper, which drew an incredible reaction from the home crowd:
38,388 POINTS
LeBron James hits the fadeaway jumper to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer! #ScoringKing pic.twitter.com/P5LyTZAZn3
— NBA (@NBA) February 8, 2023
LeBron James is the leading scorer in NBA history! pic.twitter.com/SALgvvpouI
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) February 8, 2023
The King speaks: pic.twitter.com/TaMvB1BkHc
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) February 8, 2023
The embrace between LeBron and Kareem was special. A moment we’ll surely never forget: pic.twitter.com/WcYcrFzv5Y
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) February 8, 2023
This is obviously an incredible accomplishment for James, who grew up studying the game of basketball and its greats from a very young age.
The Lakers star was previously asked about how highly he regards the NBA scoring record and he put it right up there with the MLB home run record as the most prestigious in all of sports.
Even though James discussed the inevitability of him breaking this record considering he plans to play at least a few more seasons, there has to be at least a small weight lifted off his shoulders now that it’s done. Perhaps the coolest aspect of it all was that Abdul-Jabbar himself was in attendance cheering James on, which is a big deal considering the past differences the two have shared.
James confident Lakers can win championship as currently constructed if healthy
Now that breaking the record is behind James and the Lakers, their focus can shift toward getting back into playoff contention. LeBron recently expressed confidence that the Lakers have the pieces to compete for a championship as long as they remain healthy.
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