LeBron James has surpassed Kareem Abdul-39-year-old Jabbar’s record to become the NBA’s all-time top scorer.
James, a 38-year-old standout for the Los Angeles Lakers, scored 38 points in a 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder to break Abdul-previous Jabbar’s record of 38,387.
Eight months before James was born, in April 1984, Abdul-Jabbar first broke the scoring mark.
“To be able to be in the presence of a legend and great as Kareem, it means so much to me,” said James.
With a fadeaway jumper at the end of the third quarter, James, who needed 36 points to break the record, did so. He finished the game with a total of 38,390 points for his career.
While Abdul-Jabbar, who was present for the game at the Lakers’ home court and is 75 years old, stood and cheered, James, who was visibly emotional, raised both arms in excitement.
Game was briefly stopped for a ceremony honoring the accomplishment, during which James spoke on court with a microphone.
“Everybody that has ever been a part of this run with me the last 20-plus years, I want to say thank you so much because I wouldn’t be me without all you. You all helped. Your passion and sacrifices helped me to get to this point,” he said.
“And to the NBA to Adam Silver, to the late great David Stern, thank you very much for allowing me to be a part of something I always dreamed about. I would never in a million years dreamt this to be even better than what it is tonight.”
In front of a cheering throng that included tennis great John McEnroe, musicians Jay-Z, LL Cool J, and Bad Bunny, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., actor Denzel Washington, and music icon Jay-Z, Abdul-Jabbar ceremoniously turned the ball over to James to acknowledge his new record.
“I thought it had every chance of being broken. It just had to have someone that the offense focused on continually,” said Abdul-Jabbar, who retired in 1989.
“LeBron’s career is one of someone who planned to dominate this game. You have to give him credit for just the way he played and for the way he’s lasted and dominated.”
James, a four-time NBA champion, is currently in his 20th season after being selected first overall by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft.
After joining the Miami Heat in 2010, where he won two championships, the forward left again to help Cleveland capture the lone NBA championship in franchise history in 2016.
He joined the Lakers in 2018, and he assisted them in their championship victory in 2020. This was his fourth time receiving the NBA Finals MVP award.
James, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, has made 10 NBA Finals appearances and won four MVP awards during the regular season.
Abdul-Jabbar spent 20 seasons in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers, where he amassed six championships, six MVP awards during the regular season, and two MVP awards for the NBA Finals.
Asked after the game whether he is the best NBA player of all time, James said: “I’ll let everybody else decide who that is or just talk about it, but it’s great barbershop talk.
“Me personally, I’m going to take myself against anybody who’s ever played this game. But everyone’s going to decide who their favourite is.”
NBA’s all-time scoring list
Player Pts Played Minutes Pts/game
LeBron James 38,390 1,410 53,741 27.2
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387 1,560 57,446 24.6
Karl Malone 36,928 1,476 54,852 25.0
Kobe Bryant 33,643 1,346 48,643 25.0
Michael Jordan 32,292 1,072 41,010 30.1
Dirk Nowitzki 31,560 1,522 51,367 20.7
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419 1,045 47,859 30.1
Shaquille O’Neal 28,596 1,207 41,917 23.7
Carmelo Anthony 28,289 1,260 43,513 22.5