LeBron James career points

LeBron James is about a week away from usurping Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to seize the NBA's career scoring crown. His 38,388th regular-season point will represent a ...

The top under-30 thief is—stunningly—Drummond, with just 998 career steals, less than a third of the way to the record. But no modern player is coming close to Stockton’s single-season assist figures, either: Out of the nine 1,000-assist seasons in NBA history, Stockton has seven—and nobody’s reached that threshold even once since he did in 1994-95. Chamberlain reached that mark in every single season of his career (other than one in which he played just 12 games). But Paul has played 1,186 career games just past the midpoint of his 18th season, while Stockton was up at 1,422 games by the end of his 18th season. In this case, it’s important to consider the statistical influence of the NBA’s deepened talent pool, thanks to factors like the mass arrival of international players over the past quarter-century, the rise of the G League, and unprecedented performances of Second (#) Jason Kidd (12,091) John Stockton (15,806) Leader (#) Jason Kidd (2,684) John Stockton (3,265) Yet even that historical summary undersells the extraordinary nature of career records in the NBA.

LeBron James is closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career points record, but it comes amid another lost Lakers season.

[[Trade grades: How did Lakers do in Hachimura deal?]](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nba/2023-nba-trade-deadline-grades) It's complicated](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/what-could-an-aaron-rodgers-trade-look-like-its-complicated) [2023 CFB storylines: New QBs, returning storylines and can anyone stop Georgia?](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/2023-offseason-storylines-new-qbs-returning-stars-and-can-anyone-stop-georgia) [Super Bowl 2023 odds: early lines for Chiefs Eagles; Philadelphia opens as favorite](https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/super-bowl-2023-odds-early-lines-for-chiefs-eagles-eagles-open-as-favorite) [ National Football League](/stories/nfl/chiefs-beat-bengals-in-afc-championship-social-reaction-travis-kelces-comments) [Rui Hachimura](https://www.foxsports.com/nba/rui-hachimura-player) from the [Washington Wizards](https://www.foxsports.com/nba/washington-wizards-team) last week, which wasn't a bad move. [Patrick Beverley](https://www.foxsports.com/nba/patrick-beverley-player) hilariously grabbed a courtside photographer's camera to show the officials their folly and got a tech for it. It is the last record of its type that will be broken for a long time. Maybe, and this would be kind of cool, on an appropriate night, like the Feb. The current group is not a deep squad. "I want to win and give myself a chance to win and still compete for championships. And yet, for all the pieces, not least the head-scratching reality that he's putting up 30 points a night at age 38, it is impossible to get away from a gnawing thought. Even the most proficient modern thieves and helpers would need to replicate their best season for about 30 years to get by the To be on the cusp of It is a worthy pursuit and a remarkable one.

The Los Angeles Lakers visit the Golden State Warriors at San Francisco's Chase Center in less than two weeks.

So I didn’t get to see the passing of the torch—he hit No. I had a ticket for the following night. So, most likely, LeBron will already be the all-time scoring leader by the time the Lakers come to San Francisco, though one can dream. Other Lakers home games, such as a March 3 tilt with the Minnesota Timberwolves, start in the $94 range. Oh, and Abdul-Jabbar spent the first six seasons of his career in Milwaukee before getting traded to the Lakers. 9 when the Lakers host the Milwaukee Bucks.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are in the Big Apple Tuesday night for a matchup against the New York Knicks. Most eyes...

LeBron earned it and I hope he carries it even longer than I did." I'm excited and relieved to pass it along to the next worthy recipient. LeBron earned it and I hope he carries it even longer than I did.”

James passes a pair of NBA legends in one fell swoop to jump two spots on the all-time list.

[NBA’s career record](https://www.nba.com/news/lebron-james-scoring-tracker). [129-123 in overtime](https://www.nba.com/game/lal-vs-nyk-0022200765/box-score#box-score). His 10,336th assist came on Thomas Bryant’s dunk with less than 10 minutes remaining.

James is the only non-point guard to rank in the top 20 in career assists. He moved into the fourth all-time as crept that much closer to the scoring title.

The Lakers star crossed another milestone in his career on Tuesday night in the Big Apple.

Former Jazz legend John Stockton is the NBA’s all-time assists leader (15,806), followed by Jason Kidd’s 12,091 while Chris Paul (11,246) sits in third. The four-time NBA champion then eclipsed Nash and moved to fourth after he dished a pass to Thomas Bryant, who converted on a dunk with 9:37 to play in regulation. The four-time MVP is averaging 30.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists while shooting 50.7% from the floor.

James passes both Mark Jackson and Steve Nash as he notches his first triple-double of season.

2 Kidd is bigger than the gap between Kidd and No. The gap between him and No. In the process, he became the fourth-oldest player ever to record a triple-double, trailing Elvin Hayes in 1984, Tim Duncan in 2014 and Karl Malone in 2003. The assists will likely take several more years. He quickly passed the man who recruited him to the [Los Angeles Lakers](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/LAL/los-angeles-lakers/), Magic Johnson, and that left him within striking distance of the top five. Fortunately for James, getting to No.

How close is Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James to passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading scorer?

It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more! Jan. LeBron has already had five 40-plus point scoring outbursts since turning 38 in December though, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get it done on the current road trip. With James currently averaging 30.2 points per game, he projects to pass Abdul-Jabbar when the Lakers host the Thunder on Tuesday, Feb. James will be celebrated regardless, but it will certainly mean a lot more to him and the Laker faithful if a victory can come along with it. [passed Bryant in Philadelphia](https://lakersnation.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-passes-kobe-bryant-for-3rd-on-nba-all-time-scoring-list/2020/01/26/) the night before the Lakers legend tragically passed away on Jan.

LeBron James' points total will increase over the next few years. When all is said and done, will his record be out of reach?

[Nikola Jokić](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/nikola-jokic-bCjsyLGuQMrMSWNr/), in particular, is about halfway to Westbrook’s record and is only 27, while [Luka Dončić](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/luka-doncic-gMyReUOesjAikT7S/) is hot on his trail. [Stephen Curry](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/stephen-curry-toS7DgUD3IIt7uds/)’s records for 3-pointers made (3,290) and attempted (7,695) are similarly vulnerable, even as he adds to them. If Dončić plays 70 games a year and averages 32.5 points per game over the next six seasons, he will catch up to LeBron’s trendline by the end of his age-29 season. [James Harden](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/james-harden-xj359Qh34ugWFbVp/)’s 2019-20 season but extended over multiple years. [Russell Westbrook](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/russell-westbrook-6Eb0XPY16UzzJWbc/)’s record for triple-doubles, although he’s still adding to it. [Dejounte Murray](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/dejounte-murray-tm3kUMS7SqPU8gXQ/) last season. We know that James has said he wants to stay in the league [long enough to play with his son](https://theathletic.com/3138844/2022/02/19/could-lebron-james-return-to-cleveland-again-the-doors-not-closed-on-that-he-says/) Bronny, which would extend his career to 2024-25 at a minimum. James hasn’t played more than 67 games in a season since 2017-18, but even if he plays 60 next year and sees a modest dip in his scoring average to 25 points per game, we’re looking at 1,500 more points, which would make him the first player to clear the 40,000 barrier. Baseball writer Bill James once modeled baseball records’ breakability in terms of “league-leading seasons,” as in how many league-leading seasons from the current year would it take to catch the record. With James averaging 30.2 points per game, he could easily add 600 points or more to his record just over the final two months of this season. James might be 38, but he’s still one of the best players in the league — recently [named an All-Star Game starter](https://theathletic.com/4127894/2023/01/26/nba-all-star-game-starters-analysis/) while cruising toward an inconceivable 19th All-NBA selection. James is tracking to be better than all of them, although he probably needs one more elite season after this one to decisively leave Kareem in the dust.