LeBron James
is on the verge of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Abdul-Jabbar has been atop the career points list since April 5, 1984, when he broke the mark previously held by Wilt Chamberlain. Now James has that record
within reach.
So when will James score the 117 points he needs to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s career total of 38,387? That depends.
– At his career scoring average of 27.2 points per game, James would need five games to break the mark, putting him on track to do it Feb. 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
– At his 2022-23 scoring average of 30.2 points per game, James would need four games to break the mark, putting him on track to do it Feb. 4 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
– Since turning 38 on Dec. 30, James is averaging 35.2 points per game. If he maintains that average, James also would need four games to break the mark.
This all assumes James plays every game between now and when he breaks the record. He already has missed 10 games this season, and the Lakers have one remaining back-to-back between now and the end of February.
We’ll have ongoing coverage of LeBron’s quest, including updated game-by-game projections and complete
stats, throughout the season.
