LeBron James is in his 20th year in the league and is not showing any signs that he looks off the pace. LeBron is getting closer and closer to beating Kareem Abdul-Jabbar‘s all-time scoring record. Kareem made it his own on April 5th, 1984. He snatched the top spot from Wilt Chamberlain after scoring 31,420 points in his career.
That wasn’t all that Abdul-Jabbar did. He stretched it even further and cemented his status as one of the league’s finest if the 6 championship rings he won weren’t already enough. Although we are not sure that LeBron will overtake Kareem in number of NBA championships won, it looks possible for him to become the all-time scoring leader in the NBA very soon.
How many points does LeBron James need to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?
Kareem has scored 38,387 points in the NBA. On the other hand, James has put up 38,230 points on the board. To put it into perspective, the latter only needs 158 points, as of January 27, 2023, to surpass Kareem on the scoring leaderboard. The LA Lakers star has been averaging at least 20 points per game every season since 2003, and that has been the case this time around as well.
In the 2022-23 NBA season so far, LeBron has averaged 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 7.0 assists. A point that we have to remember is that he has played in only 39 games this season, out of a possible 59. The main reason for his absence will be the adductor injury he faced a few weeks ago, and the soreness he has been experiencing in his ankle in recent times as well.
The Lakers have 23 games to play in the coming months, and that means James has more than enough time to surpass Kareem’s record. To be specific, he has to average the same number of points per game for for just 6 more games this season. Knowing LeBron’s mentality and ability, it would be safe to claim that he appears to be closer than ever to breaking Kareem’s record.
LeBron was asked about his thoughts & relationship with Kareem.
“No thoughts & no relationship.”
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 4, 2022
A while ago, the former Cleveland Cavaliers star even got brutally honest when reporters asked how he felt about surpassing Kareem. All he said was, “No thoughts and no relationship” with Kareem. This came as a surprise to many as we all know LeBron to be an athlete who always recognized greatness. His comments may suggest that he is locked in and ready to take over the throne from Kareem very soon.