LeBron James passes Kareem as NBA scoring leader

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

All hail King LeBron James.

Needing 36 points to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s All-Time Scoring Leader, the four-time champion immediately went to work rewriting history after finishing the game with 38 markers against the Oklahoma City Thunder last February 8, 2023.

With 12.5 seconds left in the third quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers needing a bucket to inch closer to Oklahoma, James cashed in a fade-away jumper from the top of the key that officially inked his name in the history book of the NBA.

The Lakers-Thunder game came to a pause to recognize James’ greatness that further solidified his Greatest of All Time (GOAT) status in the big boys’ league.

It was seen from the get-go that James was hungry in chasing that record when he quickly scored 20 big points in the first half.

The four-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the league started hot and was unstoppable whenever he got inside the paint.

James also shot an efficient percentage from the three-point line and ended the first two quarters with a 6/10 shooting from the field.

With the Lakers down by double-digits at the start of the third period, James brought the house down after burying back-to-back three-pointers that trimmed the Lakers’ deficit to just six points, 84-78.

Despite James’ scoring effort, the Lakers still failed to retake the lead in the final canto as the Thunder put on a shooting clinic from downtown.

James wrapped up his record-breaking game with 38 points, seven rebounds, and three assists but had to endure a painful 133-130 loss to the Thunder.

In his 20-year career in the NBA, James has now tallied a total of 38,390 points after their game against Oklahoma and is the only active player in the top 10 All-Time Scoring list.

The closest threat to James’ new record is Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant who is currently sitting on the no. 14 of the All-Time Scoring list with 26,684 points.

Durant joins James as the only two players included in the top 15 All-Time Scoring list still hooping in the NBA.