LeBron James is within striking distance of breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record. The Lakers superstar enters Tuesday night's home game vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder just 36 points away from history. Barring injury, James will pass Adbul-Jabbar's mark of 38,387 career points this week at home. The Lakers host the Thunder on Tuesday night (10 p.m. ET) before welcoming the Bucks on Thursday night.
Abdul-Jabbar has held the career scoring record since 1984. In anticipation of the record falling, the Lakers-Thunder game on Tuesday has been added to TNT's nationally-televised schedule.
Here's a look at where LeBron's chase stands:
ALL-TIME SCORING LEADER | CAREER POINTS | POINTS TO PASS |
---|---|---|
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 38,387 | ___ |
LeBron James | 38,352 | 36 |
If LeBron doesn't hit his mark on Tuesday, he'll likely make do so against the Bucks on Thursday. If that were to happen, the headlines would write themselves.
Imagine: LeBron James, playing for the same team that Kareem spent his final 14 seasons with, breaks the all-time scoring record against the team that Kareem spent his first six season with -- all with the guy that most people feel has supplanted LeBron as the best player in the world, Giannis Antetokounmpo, on the same floor. If you're the torch-passing romantic type, this could be your Super Bowl.
- LeBron's last three games: 27 at New Orleans, 26 at Pacers, 28 at Knicks, 41 at Celtics
- LeBron's next three games: vs. Oklahoma City (Feb. 7), vs. Milwaukee (Feb. 9), at Warriors (Feb. 11)
"It's still mind-boggling to myself," James told ESPN this week. "I've set out goals throughout my whole career -- I wanted to be Rookie of the Year, I wanted to be MVP in this league, I wanted to win championships, be an All-Star. I wanted to lead the league in assists. I wanted to make All-Defensive team, be Defensive Player of the Year. I never said I wanted to lead the league in scoring, or for sure never said I wanted to be the all-time leader in scoring.
"That's never been a dream of mine. To sit here and actually be on the brink of it happening, it's pretty crazy."
James has scored 36 points or more nine times this season in 43 games, most recently a 41-point showing against the Celtics on Jan. 28.
"I'm excited to see it happen. I don't see records as personal accomplishments, but more as human achievements," Adbul-Jabbar said ahead of the 2021-22 season about LeBron potentially breaking his record. "If one person can do something that's never been done, that means we all have a shot at doing it. It's a source of hope and inspiration. Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile back in 1954. Since then, not only have 1,400 runners beaten that time, but the new record is 17 seconds less. We all win when a record is broken and if LeBron breaks mine, I will be right there to cheer him on."
This post will update after each game until LeBron is atop the all-time scoring list.