Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is entering his 20th season in the NBA. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer continues to play at an elite level despite dealing with a recent history of injuries.
Speaking of history, King James is nearing the NBA's all-time scoring record previously set by former Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
James is currently 1,386 points from surpassing Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time list. The four-time NBA champion was asked about this during Lakers’ media day. To say that James knows the significance of this mark would be an understatement.
“I’m kind of in awe of it, like, wow. To sit here and to know that I’m on the verge of breaking probably the most sought after record in the NBA … it’s super humbling.”
LeBron James on nearing NBA all-time scoring record
Timeline for LeBron James to break NBA all-time scoring mark
Having turned 37 last season, James averaged a whopping 30.3 points per game. If he were to average the same amount, James would break the record roughly 47 games into the 2022-23 campaign. That would come sometime in late January. In particular, a Jan. 22 road date with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Though, it’s incredibly hard to predict something like this. For the Lakers’ part, they hope that James isn’t forced to average north of 30 points per game. It would likely mean more injury issues for Anthony Davis and continued struggles on the part of star guard Russell Westbrook.
Even if James were to average 25 points per game as he did in 2020-21, he’d break the record in February. A home date with the Milwaukee Bucks and a road outing against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors would be two key games to keep an eye on in that regard.
LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the best NBA scorers of all-time
We’re talking about King James being in some absolutely elite company. He has already surpassed some all-time greats and has this final hurdle to overcome.
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 38,387
- LeBron James: 37,062
- Karl Malone: 36,928
- Kobe Bryant: 33,643
- Michael Jordan: 32,292
Four of the top-five all-time leading scorers had at some point suited up for the Lakers. In an interesting and tragic turn, LeBron passed Kobe Bryant on the Lakers’ all-time scoring list on the evening of Jan. 25, 2020. One day later, Bryant passed away in a helicopter accident in Southern California. Bryant’s last social media post was paying homage to James’ accomplishment.
LeBron James knows the history. He will take it in — you can bet on that.
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