By surpassing Kareem Abdul-all-time Jabbar’s scoring mark, LeBron James has established himself as one of the most dominant NBA players in history. With 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter on Tuesday night, the 38-year-old surpassed Kareem Abdul-record Jabbar’s of 38,387 points with a step-back fadeaway jumper from the foul line over the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kenrich Williams.
Making History
Abdul-Jabbar played in 1,560 games to reach his total, whereas James did so in slightly more than 1,400. Michael Jordan averages 30.1 points per game, which is the most in NBA history. James is barely behind another active player, Kevin Durant, in fifth place on that list with 27.1. After James’ shot broke the record, the game was stopped for a ceremony featuring Abdul-Jabbar and NBA commissioner Adam Silver that took place on the court.
Set from the Start
James seemed to be headed for the scoring record nearly from the beginning. While still in high school, he received the kind of media attention that professional athletes typically receive, and he made his NBA debut at the age of 18 for the Cleveland Cavaliers, his hometown team. In contrast to James, Abdul-Jabbar played college basketball and didn’t make his NBA debut until he was 22. The fact that James has avoided catastrophic injuries and has only lost considerable playing time since joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 has contributed to his ability to accumulate scoring records.
Future plans include James playing with his son Bronny, who won’t be able to play in the NBA until at least 2024. If his scoring rate keeps up, James would have well over 40,000 career points by then. Performance during the regular season serves as the basis for official NBA records. James, though, also has the most points ever scored in a regular season and playoff game combined. In the playoffs of the previous year, he surpassed Abdul-mark Jabbar’s of 44,149 points.