The NBA has a new king of points, and it’s the king himself.
LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) as the NBA’s all-time points leader on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a record that has stood for nearly four decades.
James, who brought back the crown for the first time in years, needed 36 points on the night to get past the front-row seated Los Angeles Lakers legend, and he did it with ease.
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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James throws dust into the air before the team’s NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
James was clearly feeling the nerves early, missing his first shots off the floor. And don’t let me tell you he wasn’t thinking of that: the headset he was wearing before the game read «38,388,» the number of career points needed to rewrite the history books.
But after draining a three, he got into his groove. He scored eight points in the first quarter and went for another ten in the second to head into the locker room 16 points shy of the magic number. He had a microphone for the occasion, and the TNT broadcast showed him telling his two children «I’ll get it» at halftime.
In the third quarter, he knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to reach single digits, bringing the Crypto.com Arena crowd to its feet. After a layup, he sat for a few minutes and returned to the game with 2:14 to go in the third, needing just six points.
Two layups put him inside a basket, and he hit a fadeaway from the elbow to set the record.
The game was stopped for a ceremony where James was greeted by his family, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Abdul-Jabbar, who presented him with the ball he used to break the record. James celebrated the shot, but quickly became emotional during the ceremony, and certainly when he shook hands with the legend he had just passed.
James then took the microphone to thank his family and friends, and made sure the fans gave Abdul-Jabbar a standing ovation.
LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket in the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on February 7, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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James accomplished the feat in the 1,410 game of his career: Abdul-Jabbar, who broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 31,419 on April 5, 1984, nearly nine months before James was born, played in 1,560.
In a Lakers phenomenon, all three James, Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain donned purple and gold.
The new all-time points leader scored his first points on October 29, 2003 as a Cleveland Cavalier in Sacramento with a baseline jumper—he scored 25 points in his NBA debut, along with nine assists. and six rebounds. Clearly, that was just a microcosm of what was to come over the next two decades.
It’s perhaps the best individual achievement of James’ career: a record once considered unlikely to be broken will now likely be broken. Of course, it all depends on how long the 38-year-old plays, but the four-time NBA MVP and champion is surpassing his father by averaging more than 30 points per game in his 20th NBA season. Entering Tuesday, since he turned 38, he had 33.7 points per contest.
LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers prepares to take the court for a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena on February 7, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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There’s a long shot James will replace John Stockton as the all-time assists leader (he had 15,806), but there’s certainly a realistic chance he could retire in second place. He currently ranks fourth all-time and is less than 2,000 behind Jason Kidd’s 12,091.
But for now, and for a long time, King James is King Points.