On April 5, 1984, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar passed Wilt Chamberlain as the leading scorer in NBA history. For nearly 40 years, that record has stood the test of time...until now.
LeBron James, the self-proclaimed "Kid from Akron," "The Chosen One," "The King," now takes his seat on the throne as the sole record holder for the most points scored in NBA history.
The Lakers superstar surpassed Abdul-Jabbar on Tuesday night at Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles. James scored his 38,388th point of his career on a stepback fadeaway jumper in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder to break the record.
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With Abdul-Jabbar in attendance courtside, James hit the fadeaway jumper from the wing to break the record. The game was momentarily stopped to honor the record-breaking achievement, with many players like the commissioner of the NBA Adam Silver and Abdul-Jabbar stopping the game to celebrate the moment.
James took the microphone at half court and thanked the Lakers faithful as well as his family and teammates.
James' mother Gloria, his wife Savannah, his sons Bronny and Bryce, and his daughter Zhuri, were all courtside for the historic moment. Celebrities like Denzel Washington, Usher, Floyd Mayweather, Ice Cube, Bad Bunny, Dwyane Wade, LL Cool J, Magic Johnson, Jimmy Iovine, John McEnroe, Woody Harrelson, and Jay Z were also sitting courtside.
Before LeBron, many other players over the last four decades climbed the mountaintop, hoping to chase down Abdul-Jabbar's record.
Michael Jordan (32,292) and Karl Malone (36,928) both passed Chamberlain, but their careers came to an end before they could get within striking distance of Abdul-Jabbar.
Many thought Lakers' legend, Kobe Bryant (33,643), would be the player to pass another LA great in Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant also came close, but injuries beset what could have been and Kobe fell less than 5,000 points shy of the all-time record.
Chick Hearn, the Lakers' longtime play-by-play announcer from 1961 to 2002, was on the broadcast the night that Abdul-Jabbar passed Chamberlain against the Utah Jazz at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. At the time, Hearn said it would be a record that would never be broken. A point that was only exemplified by the fact that Abdul-Jabbar played five more seasons, extending his record by almost 7,000 points.
It would take a generational talent, and a once in a lifetime player to do it. James was drafted out of high school at just 18 years old, and averaged 20.9 points per game in his rookie season.
That would prove to be the lowest average of his career. As LeBron blossomed into a superstar, and the face of the NBA as a whole, he would go on to average nearly 30 points per game over the next 14 seasons. Health and longevity played a part as well, over that span James played in 93 percent of his team's games.
When he joined the Lakers in 2018, injuries would lower that percentage, but his scoring prowess and consistency was undeterred. As long as he remained healthy and continued to defy Father Time, James breaking the scoring record was no longer a matter of if, but when.
Therefore, it was only fitting that James broke the record while wearing a Lakers jersey. Six players on the all-time scoring list all wore the purple and gold, including the previous two record holders in Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar.
Perhaps it was fate, destiny, or just coincidence that James was able to break the record at home in Los Angeles, in front of a sold out crowd at what used to be known as Staples Center.
Over the last two weeks, as James closed in on the record, whether or not they were at home or on the road, the Lakers were the hottest selling ticket in the NBA. In fact, the team's last two home games, Tuesday against the Thunder (2/7), and Thursday against the Bucks (2/9) were the top two selling NBA games of the entire season.
The average ticket price for Tuesday's game against the Thunder was over 50 percent higher than normal, with fans hoping he would explode for 36 points against OKC and break the record. Spoiler alert: he did.
With the reality that James was likely to break the record against the Bucks, ticket prices rose over 70 percent higher, with the get-in price for the game rising above $700 earlier in the week. What was the price if you wanted to sit courtside for the historic moment? Try a whopping $200k a piece!
James will now continue to extend his record as the NBA's all-time leading scorer so long as he continues to play the game. At age 38, and playing in his 20th season, James does not appear to be slowing down. He's currently averaging 30.0 points per game this season, good for the third-best output of his career. James is also averaging 8.5 rebounds per game, the second highest mark of his career.
James already ranks among the top of the list in nearly every single statistical category in NBA history. James is currently third in all-time minutes played, second in field goals made, ninth in three-pointers made and steals, fourth in free throws made and assists, and now first overall in points scored.
James has told reporters that he would like to continue to play until his oldest son Bronny James enters the league which would not be able to happen until the fall of 2024. He also recently told teammate Dennis Schröder on his podcast that he would like to play until he's 45.
If James does play another 5-to-7 years, there's likely nobody that could catch him in scoring. Kevin Durant is the only other active player in the top 15, and at 34 years old, he is currently over 11,000 points behind LeBron, and would need to play six seasons longer than him and continue to average 27.3 PPG in order to pass him. With no signs of James retiring any time soon, that seems unlikely.
In the meantime, let's all sit back and watch one of the greatest players of all time continue to shatter records and transcend the sport.
