LeBron James Breaks Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA All-Time Points Record—Renewing Debate Over Greatest Of All Time

Topline

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James made history Tuesday night when he broke former Lakers great Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s all-time NBA points record—putting him at 38,388 career points and renewing the debate over who is the league’s greatest player of all time.

Key Facts

James, 38, broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record—which had stood for 39 years—in the third quarter of the Lakers’ home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Abdul-Jabbar in attendance.

James, a four-time NBA champion and four-time league MVP, passed 38,000 career points last month, a landmark that only two players have ever accomplished, scoring an impressive 35 points and making 10 assists and eight rebounds in the Lakers’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

He had previously surpassed Utah Jazz great Karl Malone—the third highest points total of all time, with 36,928—as well as Kobe Bryant (33,643) and Michael Jordan (32,292), often lauded as the greatest of all time.

James, a four-time NBA Finals MVP, is two short of Jordan’s record of six Finals MVPs, and is fourth all-time in assists, ninth in steals, fourth in free throws made and second in field goals made, only behind Abdul-Jabbar.

Surprising Fact

Even in his 20th NBA season, James is having close to a career year with the Lakers, averaging 30 points per game—the league’s seventh best this season. James has only racked up more points per game in two previous seasons: last year with the Lakers, when he scored 30.3 points, and his 2005-2006 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, when he scored 31.4.

Contra

Despite James’ performance this year, and building a team around veterans Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder, the Lakers still find themselves under the .500 mark and 13th out of 15 teams in the NBA’s Western Conference. As of Tuesday, they are 12 games back of the conference-best Denver Nuggets, and three games out of a playoff spot.

Forbes Valuation

We value James’ net worth at $1 billion, largely due to a spate of lucrative endorsement deals that often lead to him taking equity stakes in companies. James was the world’s second-highest paid athlete in Forbes’ 2022 rankings, making $41.2 million on the court and $80 million off of it (including for his role in Space Jam: A New Legacy and endorsements with Nike, PepsiCo and Walmart), behind only Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi. James became the first active NBA player to reach billionaire status last year.

Further Reading

LeBron Reaches Landmark 38,000 Career Points—He Could Soon Become The NBA’s All-Time Top Scorer (Forbes)

With LeBron James eclipsing Kareem’s scoring mark, Lakers fans need to take a moment to enjoy the moment (CBS Sports)

With a Complete Effort, LeBron James Closes In on Scoring Record (New York Times)