LeBron James just became the second player in NBA history to score 38,000 career points.
The 38-year-old, who is in his 20th season in the NBA, is now 316 points behind fellow Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the league’s highest-scoring player of all time, who boasts 38,387 career points.
James catapulted himself over the 38,000-point mark with a first-quarter jump shot during the Lakers’ Sunday night game against the Philadelphia 76ers, according to NBA.com.
James capped off the game with 35 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, but the Lakers lost 113-112.
James talked last fall about the potential to break Abdul-Jabbar’s record.
“To sit here and to know that I’m on the verge of breaking probably the most sought-after record in the NBA, things that people said would probably never be done, I think it’s just super humbling for myself,” James said, according to CBS. “I think it’s super cool. Obviously, Kareem has had his differences with some of my views and some of the things that I do.”
He continued, “But at the end of the day, to be able to be in the same breath as a guy that wore this same uniform, a guy that was a staple of this franchise, along with Magic [Johnson], Big Game [James Worthy] over there for so many years, especially in the ’80s, and a guy that does a lot off the floor as well, I think is just super-duper dope, for myself to even be in that conversation.”
James could eclipse the record sometime in early February based on his current performance output, according to NBA.com.
Abdul-Jabbar told reporter Marc Stein in September 2021 that he’s “excited to see it happen,” calling James’ expected achievement “a source of hope and inspiration.”
In March, James broke another record after becoming the first player in the history of the NBA to reach 10,000 points in rebounds and assists.
The star, who has landed four NBA championships and four MVP awards, last June became the first NBA player to become a billionaire while playing in the league.