NBA: LeBron James surpasses 38,000 points

Lakers forward, LeBron James has passed 38,000 NBA points in their loss to the 76ers. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has scored more points than LeBron James.

James scored the 38,000th point of his career with a jump shot in Sunday’s game with the 76ers. Prior to the game, he needed only 11 points to become only the second player to go beyond the 38k mark in the franchise. He scored 35.

Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in a career which saw him win six rings. James, with four, needs 363 points to surpass the record of the old-timer.

What does Kareem Abdul-Jabbar think?

On August 24, 2022, the NBA’s all-time scorer on ESPN’s SportsCenter indicated he will ‘try to be there’ for the moment James eventually broke the record.

James had managed 37,063 career points at the time, and less than a year later, is only 363 behind Abdul-Jabbar.

The four-time NBA champion’s two-year contract extension with the Lakers on August 18, 2022, meant James secured the chance to break the record in the same uniform Abdul-Jabbar wore when it was set.

“If LeBron breaks the record – and it looks like he has every reason to break it – I’ll be very happy for him. The game always improves when records like that are broken so LeBron should enjoy his achievement. He’s worked very hard to get this far and for him, he’ll get to wait and see who’ll be lucky enough to break his record – if that’s going to happen.

“It’s always about passing it on to the next guy in line. Well, if I’m still around, of course [I’ll be there when James breaks it]. So I’ll try and make it by the game and cheer him on. He certainly deserves every accolade that’s out there for him.”