LeBron James, 38, became the second NBA player to record 38,000 points. King James hit the milestone with 5:43 left in the first quarter of the Lakers’ 112-113 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena.
LeBron missed a triple-double with 35 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Russell Westbrook, who came off the bench, had 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists, but Georges Niang blocked him on the final play that could have won the game for the Lakers.
Joel Embiid and James Harden led the Sixers with 35 points and 11 rebounds, respectively (24 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists).
The NBA’s best scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, had 38,387 regular season points.
James, averaging 29 points per game this season, might surpass Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in February, according to EFE.
On October 29, 2003, James made his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers, scoring 25 points in a loss to the Sacramento Kings.
The Akron star trailed 2,708 NBA all-time scorers.
In his 20th NBA season, James was humbled to be close to Abdul-record Jabbar in October 2022.
“To come close to breaking what is perhaps the most sought-after and chased record in the NBA, something that many thought would never be done, well, it’s fantastic and wonderful, but also humbling for me,” James said.
Jabbar encouraged LeBron to surpass his record in October 2021.
“If it occurs, I will be thrilled,” Abdul-Jabbar stated.
“I view records less as personal accomplishments and more as human accomplishments. If a person can accomplish something that has never been accomplished before, then we all have the potential to achieve the same.
He is a source of inspiration and hope. In 1954, Roger Bannister shattered the mile record by sprinting sub-four minutes. Since then, not only has the previous record been surpassed several times, but the new record is 17 seconds slower.
I will be there to cheer for LeBron if he breaks my record.
