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How long until LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time NBA scoring record?

The legend of Abdul-Jabbar will always live on, but will his incredible 38,387 points remain the total to beat?

Calum Roche
Calum RocheEnglish_AS
Estados Unidos
LeBron James-récord NBA-Lakers

LeBron James has made NBA history by becoming only the second player in history to score over 38,000 career points. Prior to Sunday’s game, he only needed 11 points to reach that milestone and a mid-range jumper in the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers took him there. Now the LA Lakers superstar has his sights on the all-time record for regular season points held by legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, at 38,387.

LeBron shooting for NBA history books

After reaching this latest milestone, the question on many lips is how long until he reaches the record. For this we need to do some basic calculations, and make the assumption that no injuries lie ahead in the coming weeks.

Given that the 38-year-old forward has averaged 29.2 points per game in his 33 this season, and with another 35 in the loss to the 76ers, he now needs 364 to break Abdul-Jabbar’s record in the coming weeks. With the desire running through his veins, let’s say he holds to 30-points per game from now. That’s just 13 games needed!!

Next up, on Monday is the Houston Rockets and then looking ahead, game 13 will be against the Milwaukee Bucks on 10 February. Could that be the day? If not, and making that injury-avoidance assumption, it’s likely to come shortly afterwards...

Who is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar anyway?

Long retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He played for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers during his career, which spanned from 1969 to 1989. Over those two decades he won six NBA championships and was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player six times. As mentioned above, he is the all-time leading scorer in NBA history with 38,387 points, and he was also a 19-time All-Star and a 15-time member of the All-NBA First Team. In addition, he was selected to the All-Defensive Team twice.

Abdul-Jabbar is also known for his famous skyhook shot, which he used to great effect throughout his career. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.