When LeBron James passed
Karl Malone for second
on the NBA’s career regular-season points list, he set his sights firmly on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the
NBA’s current all-time leading scorer.
Abdul-Jabbar has been atop the career points list since April 5, 1984 — eight months before James was even born — when he broke the mark previously held by Wilt Chamberlain. Now James has that record within reach, needing 887 points to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s career total of 38,387.
At his career scoring average of 27.1 PPG, James would need 33 games to rack up that total, putting him on track to break the record on Feb. 9 against the Milwaukee Bucks. James has missed six games this season, and if he continues to miss games at the same rate he did last season, the record-breaking game would come March 12 against the New York Knicks. Through 17 games this season, James is averaging 25.8 PPG, leaving him slightly behind his career pace.
We’ll have ongoing coverage of LeBron’s quest, including updated game-by-game projections and complete stats, throughout the season.
JAMES VS. ABDUL-JABBAR
Even though James has already missed six games this season, he’s significantly ahead of the pace Abdul-Jabbar set in his 20th and final season in 1988-89. James has scored 439 points in 17 games in 2022-23; Abdul-Jabbar needed 42 games to reach the 415-point mark.
JAMES
ABDUL-JABBAR
YEAR-BY-YEAR POINT TOTALS
20TH YEAR COMPARISON
TYRONN LUE
LA Clippers head coach
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
James lost to the Cavaliers for just the third time in his career, finishing with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
LAST 5 GAMES
sought-after record in the NBA, things that people say would probably never be done, I think it’s
just super humbling for myself. I think it’s super cool.”
LeBRON JAMES
On passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
VAUGHN RIDLEY/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES
James’ first career 50-point game came in Toronto on March 20, 2005, when he scored 56 in a 105-98 Cavaliers loss. In seven meetings with the Raptors as a Laker, James is averaging 23.6 PPG.
MORE LEBRON JAMES
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