LeBron James won’t play against the Brooklyn Nets so when will he break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record?
From injuries to key teammates, to frustrating calls by referees, it’s been a torrid time for the Lakers lately and not least of all their star, LeBron James, who is now forced to sit out the game - missing an opportunity to make history.
Now within touching distance of the NBA’s greatest record, the Lakers star has been sadly been ruled out of the game. Of course, aside from the hunt for an individual honor there is also the small matter of the Lakers’ flagging season. Milestone or not, it goes without saying that LeBron James would like to be on the court on Monday night.
Not so fast: LeBron James record hunt put on hold.
According to reports, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will not be in the lineup for Monday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. James of course, is now on the verge of surpassing the NBA’s scoring record, but unfortunately along with Anthony Davis will have to sit tight before he can return to action, following another frustrating period with an ankle injury that he’s struggled with all season. In the Lakers last game, James played 44 minutes in what turned out to be a dramatic overtime loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday. It’s worth mentioning that the Lakers are also due to play on Tuesday, which is to say giving James - with a sore ankle - some rest, makes perfect sense. Where Davis is concerned, it’s understood that he too could play against the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
So, what about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record?
At present, James is 117 points off of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s coveted record. What that means, is that once he returns to action it should really only be a matter of three or four games, before he rights his name into the league’s history books. To put perspective, James has scored at least 40 points in two of the past three games, which is to say he’s been playing inspiring basketball. Prior to his injury, the projected date for the record to be broken was February 4th. As things stand now, it’s February 7th. Currently in the middle of a 5-game road trip, that date will see them back home and hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Needless to say, it would be quite a show if he’s able to reach the milestone while playing at home, however, should he fail to do so he should have no problems wrapping it up on just two days later on the 9th when they also play at the Crypto.com Arena. To be clear, James is currently on season average of 30.2 points per game. Across his entire career, the Lakers star has an average of 27.7 points per game. What’s key here, is the pace. Abdul-Jabber scored 38,387 points in 1,560 games. James has 1,406 games under his belt and now sits on the verge of history. We trust you to do the math, but from where we’re looking that’s over 100 games fewer. Long live King James.