Since surpassing Karl Malone in March 2022, LeBron James has now become the second-highest scorer in the history of the NBA, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

On Sunday, he reached another scoring milestone earning his 38,000th and 38,001st career points against the Philadelphia 76ers on a jump shot from the top of the key.

This development means that only James and Abdul-Jabbar have reached the 38,000-point level. 

Surpassing Abdul-Jabbar: LeBron James is now less than 400 points away from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time top scorer, an astonishing accomplishment for anyone, let alone a player who has long considered himself a pass-first player. 

Without any severe injury difficulties, James will pass the famous Lakers centre later this season. He talked about the coming achievement at the start of the season.  

Implications for LeBron’s career: While reaching the current milestone on Sunday, James maintained the remarkable record of being the youngest player to surpass every career-scoring milestone from 21,000 to 38,000 points, according to Fox Sports broadcaster Nick Wright on Twitter. 

He commented on his performance, saying:

  • “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. 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.
  • “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.”