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 998 points to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s career total of 38,387.
At his career scoring average of 27.1 PPG, James would need 37 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 13 games this season, James is averaging 25.4 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 330 points in 13 games in 2022-23; Abdul-Jabbar needed 33 games to reach the 300-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
Despite briefly leaving the game with an apparent ankle injury, James returned and finished with 21 points, but the Lakers blew a 17-point lead and lost, falling to 7-12 on the season.
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
KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/GETTY IMAGES
James has topped the 40-point mark against Portland four times in his career, including twice as a Laker. When these two teams met in October, James finished with 31 points in a two-point Lakers loss.
MORE LEBRON JAMES
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