LeBron James has broken the NBA’s all-time scoring record.
His career total reached 38,388 points with a step-back jump shot with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, breaking the record Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held for nearly four decades.
James celebrated as Abdul-Jabbar rose from his seat and clapped, and the game was stopped as some members of James’ family took to the floor.
Abdul-Jabbar, a longtime Laker, became the league’s all-time leading scorer on 5 April, 1984, and retired in 1989 with 38,387 points.
But 38-year-old James, who finished with 38 points in the Lakers’ 133-130 loss, passed him in his 20th season.
“A record that has stood for nearly 40 years, which many people thought would never be broken,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.
Abdul-Jabbar held the ball in the air and then handed it to James in a ceremonial passing of the torch.
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“I just want to say, thank you to the Laker faithful. You guys are one of a kind,” James said.
“To be able to be in the presence of such a legend as great as Kareem, it’s very humbling. Please give a standing ovation to the Captain, please.”
James thanked his family and those who have supported him, including Mr Silver and the late NBA Commissioner David Stern.
“I thank you guys so much for allowing me to be a part of something I’ve always dreamed about,” James said.
Fourth on all-time assists list
James could have taken the scoring record a long time ago, but he always preferred passing.
He is fourth on the all-time assists list.
“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but that is very true,” Mr Silver told The Associated Press. “I think it even adds – right? – to this accomplishment for a guy who became a scorer because he determined that’s what was necessary to win.
“And you’re right, he probably doesn’t get enough credit for his selfless play, because there’s so much focus and attention on him. … I think it makes it that much more special, that he’d rather be known for his assists than his baskets.”
‘If it happens, it happens’
James is also the only member of the NBA’s triple-quintuple club, with at least 10,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists. There are 44 players to reach five digits in two of those categories.
“I never did the, ‘OK, if I play this amount of time and I average this’ thing,” James said. “I’ve never done that with anything in my career. I always said, ‘If it happens, it happens.'”
US President Joe Biden said: “With your whole heart and soul you broke a hell of a record. You elevated the game.
“More than that, like Kareem, Bill Russell and others who came before you, you challenged and inspired the nation to be better, do better and live up to our full promise.”
