LeBron James becomes second NBA player to reach 38,000 points in his career

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. 

The youngest in NBA history to:
21K- LeBron
22K- LeBron
23K- LeBron
24K- LeBron
25K- LeBron
26K- LeBron
27K- LeBron
28K- LeBron
29K- LeBron
30K- LeBron
31K- LeBron
32K- LeBron
33K- LeBron
34K- LeBron
35K- LeBron
36K- LeBron
37K- LeBron

And now…

38K- LeBron

The 👑 & the 🐐

— nick wright (@getnickwright) January 16, 2023

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.”