While it’s still to be determined whether the Lakers are any better than last season, one thing we do know is star forward LeBron James needs just 1,326 points to overtake Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader.
“It’s a huge thing, I believe,” James told Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “I think it’s one of the most sought-after records in sports. And me personally, I’ve never even like set a goal of doing it. It makes zero sense to me. But it’s something that’s bigger, and bigger than people think.”
As Woike noted, if James averages 27.0 points, he’ll surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s mark a little past the halfway point of the season, or 49 games in, to be exact.
James, 37, averaged a career-high 30.3 points last year. He enters the season with 37,062 career points overall.
It’s become such a big deal that the NBA even has set up a nifty James scoring tracker on its official website. James is the only active player in the top 10 in overall points, unless Carmelo Anthony (No. 9 all-time) lands another contract. Anthony, who also played for the Lakers last season, remains unsigned.
James and the Lakers are aiming to bounce back from a 33-49 finish in which they failed to qualify for the postseason, or even the play-in tournament. They open the season Tuesday with a visit to the defending champion Warriors on ring night.
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