After a 35-point outburst in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs, LeBron James broke the record for most points scored by a player in their first 25 games as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, per Elias Sports.
The mark was previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who put up 714 points in his first 25, and now in third place is Shaquille O’Neal, who scored 642. James barely edged Abdul-Jabbar out by scoring 717 through 25 games.
James led the Lakers to a 15-10 record to that stage in the season, averaging 28.7 points, 6.8 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game. Abdul-Jabbar’s Lakers were 17-8 through his first 25 and O’Neal’s team was 18-7.
Some of James’ notable games so far were his two 40-point performances in respective wins against the Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers. His best game came in a win against the Miami Heat, when James erupted for 51.
When Abdul-Jabbar set his record in 1975, his best performance was a 40-point, 22-rebound effort in a win against the New York Knicks.
Now, even though James set the record through 25 games, he lost his lead on Abdul-Jabbar after that. Through 27 games, which the Lakers now have played sitting at 17-10, James has scored 765 points, which is 17 fewer than the 782 Abdul-Jabbar put up in his first 27 games with the team.
Abdul-Jabbar wound up scoring 2,272 during that 1975-76 season, averaging 27.7 points and leading the Lakers to an average 40-42 record in which they would miss the playoffs. James is currently on pace to score 2,321 points this season while the Lakers tracking to win 52 games.