LeBron James becomes NBA's all-time leading scorer (2024)

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, breaking the sport’s most hallowed individual record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for nearly 39 years in the third quarter Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

James, 38, a four-time NBA champion and Most Valuable Player who only won the league’s single-season scoring title once, needed 36 points to pass Abdul-Jabbar’s old record of 38,387. He got there late in the third but left the court in the closing moments of a 133-130 loss to the Thunder after apparently tweaking his sore left foot.

Wearing a white headband, in a nod to his first several pro seasons when it was routinely part of his attire, James passed Kareem not with a skyhook, as was the plan, but with a fadeaway jumper over the Thunder’s Kenrich Williams with 10.9 seconds left in the quarter, giving him 38,388. James is playing in his 20th season.

The game was stopped so James could celebrate on the court with his wife, Savannah, three children, mother Gloria, in from suburban Cleveland, his childhood friends from Akron, business partners, Lakers teammates, and Abdul-Jabbar.

“I would never ever in a million years have dreamed this any better than it is tonight,” said a teary-eyed James during the stoppage in play. “F—, man, thank you, guys.”

In the mass of humanity at center court, where there were long, tearful embraces with seemingly every member of James’ inner circle, he also posed for pictures holding the game ball with Abdul-Jabbar and NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

“It’s a record many people thought would never be broken,” Silver said. “LeBron, you are the NBA’s all-time scoring leader.”

3️⃣8️⃣,3️⃣8️⃣8️⃣

The basket that made LeBron James the NBA’s all-time leading scorer 👑

🎥 @NBA pic.twitter.com/ilD6oAyF8d

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 8, 2023

James finished with 38 points on 13-of-20 shooting. He connected on four 3s and was 8-of-10 at the foul line.

James, born in Akron and drafted No. 1 in 2003 by the Cleveland Cavaliers, not 50 miles to the north, scored his first points on Oct. 29, 2003, in Sacramento.

The 18-year-old had 25 points that night, averaged 20.9 points during his Rookie of the Year campaign, and then for the next 19 years averaged at least 25 points per game — the longest such streak in NBA history.

James was the youngest player to reach 10,000, 20,000 and 30,000 points. He has more 20-point games than any player and only Michael Jordan has scored 30 or more points in more games.

James passed Jordan for fourth place on March 6, 2019, toward the end of his first season with the Lakers. He passed Kobe Bryant for third place on Jan. 25, 2020, during a game in Philadelphia; Bryant died in a helicopter crash the next day. James moved into second place on March 19 last season, passing Karl Malone during a home game against the Wizards.

In this his fifth season in Los Angeles, which included a championship in 2020 in the Disney Bubble, James had never been celebrated on one night here as he was for this moment.

The crowd, stuffed with stars of music and film — too many to name — reached fever pitch each time he touched the ball, in delirious anticipation that he might take, and make, the next shot.

“I think it’s one of the greatest records in sports, in general, up there with the home run record in baseball,” James said last week, during his final run up to history. “I didn’t have the number implanted in my head (as a child), the actual real number, it was 38 something, but I know it’s been Kareem my whole life. So it’s pretty cool.”

James moved into fourth place on the all-time assists list last week, passing Mark Jackson and Steve Nash in an overtime win against the Knicks. His 28-point, 10-rebound and 11-assist performance in the victory also made him the fourth-oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.

James is on pace to have the highest single-season scoring average by any player in their age-38 season or older, surpassing Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 23.4 points per game in 1985-86 at age 38. Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant is the next active player behind James on the all-time scoring list at No. 14 with 26,684 career points.

Abdul-Jabbar played 20 seasons — his last 14 for the Lakers — and used 1,560 games to score 38,387 points (James passed him in 1,410 games). For the first 773 games of his career, there was no 3-point shot in the NBA, and over his final 787 contests, he attempted 18 3s and made one, on Feb. 24, 1987.

Abdul-Jabbar had been the league’s leading scorer since April 5, 1984, when he passed Wilt Chamberlain with a skyhook in the fourth quarter of a game against the Utah Jazz that was played in Las Vegas. The bucket, which gave Kareem 31,420 points, came on an assist by Magic Johnson.

“I didn’t think anybody would be able to walk this down,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “It’s amazing, talk about 38,000 points, it’s like, whew. But here we are.”

Required reading

• As LeBron James tops the NBA’s scoring mountain, don’t forget Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s excellence
• As LeBron James makes history, his Lakers come to grips with their dire present
• Lessons from LeBron: NHL All-Stars watch ageless James with awe, curiosity
• Hollinger: LeBron James’ scoring record won’t be unbreakable. But it’ll be pretty close
• Up close with LeBron James and the Lakers as he prepares to pass Kareem to become NBA’s scoring king
• LeBron James’ top 10 on-court moments as he nears Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record

(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)