LeBron James is edging closer to becoming the NBA’s best scorer of all time, taking the title away from Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
A left adductor strain paused James’ pursuit of the honor as the four-time NBA champion missed five games with the injury in November. But the 37-year-old returned in the recent wins over the San Antonio Spurs and after a 39-point performance, he’s now 1,016 points away from matching Abdul-Jabbar’s regular-season tally.
Averaging a little over 25 points per game in 2022-23, James is more than likely to break the legendary Laker’s record this season if he manages to stay healthy — ending the “Showtime” icon’s 33-year reign on the top of the scoring list. Some of the NBA’s most talented scorers have come nowhere near this extraordinary feat — such as Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, who trails Abdul-Jabbar by about 12,000 points at the age of 34.
In an interview with ESPN’s Nick Friedell, Kevin Durant emphasized the magnitude of breaking the elusive record — and the joy of watching James coming closer and closer to achieving it:
“To be the No. 1 in anything, there’s 8 billion people in the world, we just figured that out last week, so to be the No. 1 of all time at scoring the basketball, I’m sure it’s going to be a range of emotions for him,” Durant said at Friday’s shootaround, in advance of a game against the Indiana Pacers. “But to be in an era where we see this live is pretty cool as well. You probably can’t even describe the emotions and feelings him and his family and his friends are going to go through, but it’s cool to see it up close.”
Earlier in the 2022-23 season, James said he understands that becoming the NBA’s greatest-ever scorer is a huge accomplishment, calling it “one of the most sought-after records in sports.”
He added: “And me personally, I’ve never even like set a goal of doing it. It makes zero sense to me. But it’s something that’s bigger, and bigger than people think.”
Magic Johnson thinks Abdul-Jabbar will have hard time seeing James officially break his record
Magic Johnson has said he believes Abdul-Jabbar won’t take seeing James break his record well. However, Johnson explained, that’s because of his former teammate’s competitiveness rather than the legendary center’s chilly relationship with the 37-year-old All-Star.
Johnson added he thinks Abdul-Jabbar probably expected that no one would ever break his scoring record.
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