It’s considered one of the most important all-time NBA records that very few players will reach in their careers and LeBron James could soon break it.
We’re of course speaking of the hallowed NBA all-time scoring record.
After almost 1400 games, the Lakers forward is on course to break the hallowed record held by the NBA and Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
How many points exactly?
Abdul-Jabbar’s record before retirement was 38,387. James is 364 points behind the record and if he maintains his current scoring average, he could indeed beat it in approximately 16 games. These are just the next five coming up:
Jan. 16: vs. Houston Rockets
Jan. 18: vs. Sacramento Kings
Jan. 20: vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Jan. 22: at Portland Trail Blazers
Jan. 24: vs. LA Clippers
When could the record be broken?
When we can project to see the record broken should be around these fixtured games:
Feb. 4: at New Orleans Pelicans
Feb. 7: vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Feb. 9: vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Feb. 11: at Golden State Warriors
Feb. 13: at Portland Trail Blazers
By how many points per game?
It’s crucial that in order for James to hit that record he’s going to have to maintain a points-scoring average of 27.2 points per game.
No pressure huh. Well, if his last five games are anything to go by, it shouldn’t be a huge problem. Check out how he’s been performing in the last five:
Jan. 15: 76ers 113, Lakers 112 | 35 points
Jan. 12: Mavericks 119, Lakers 115 (2OT) | 24 points
Jan. 8: Lakers 136, Kings 134 | 37 points
Jan. 7: Lakers 130, Hawks 114 | 25 points
Jan. 2: Lakers 121, Hornets 115 | 43 points
Tell me more about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?
The distinguished career of the Lakers Center is considerable, from a 6 time NBA Most Valuable Player winner to the 15 times he played for the All-NBA team, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s mark on NBA history is permanent.
Abdul-Jabbar managed to rack up the biggest career-points record of any NBA player; 38,387. That’s accumulated in his 20 years with the NBA.
Breaking that down; it’s 1,560 games, 57,446 minutes played, 15,837 field goals made with 28,307 attempts and an impressive field goal percentage of 55.9%.
One of his biggest points scores was during the Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics game in December 1971, where he racked up 55 points.
His all-time NBA points record is not permanent and we should see around mid-February when James breaks it.