For the longest time, it felt that the NBA’s all-time scoring record held by Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was one that would never be broken. The combination of skill, desire, longevity and health it would take to break it seemed almost impossible. But nothing is impossible to LeBron James.
No player in NBA history has ever been as good as LeBron has been this late into his career. And on Feb. 7, 2023, he made history.
In the third quarter of the Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, James hit a midrange fadeaway to surpass Abdul-Jabbar and becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Many stars and legends were on hand to witness history, including Kareem himself, and the two shared a moment commemorating the accomplishment at halfcourt.
It was undoubtedly one of the most gratifying moments in a career full of records being set and history being made. LeBron is not known as a scorer and yet nobody in NBA history has scored more than he has. With him playing at such a high level this later in his career, he may build up a point total high enough that will never be broken.
Who knows what the final number will be, but everyone will remember where they were to witness LeBron passing Kareem to become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.
The Lakers may have lost the game to the young Thunder, but all of the focus was rightly on James and his historic accomplishment on that night.
LeBron James passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most minutes played in NBA history
Unfortunately for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, his place atop another all-time list was surpassed by LeBron James as well. The Lakers superstar passed Kareem in all-time combined minutes played, both regular season and playoffs.
Back in November of 2023, LeBron took over the top spot of all-time minutes played, regular season and playoffs combined, during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. While LeBron still trailed Kareem in terms of regular season minutes, he made up for it with more than 11,000 postseason minutes, or around four seasons worth of minutes in the playoffs alone.
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