LeBron James entered Tuesday night needing 36 points to break the NBA all-time scoring record — of 38,887 points — held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The King did not disappoint.
James achieved the legendary feat in the third quarter of Tuesday’s Los Angeles Lakers game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center. He secured the all-time record of 38,888 points with a nasty fadeaway.
That was followed by the game pausing for several minutes to celebrate the record (and it concluded with a speech that featured an f-bomb), which included a very cool moment between James and Abdul-Jabbar, both Lakers legends.
This moment between Kareem and LeBron is something special. pic.twitter.com/NygObZsn7p
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 8, 2023
LeBron scored 20 points in the first half, with this impressive left-handed and-one leading to three of the points:
The sports and entertainment world has had plenty of reaction to the special record-breaking night.
Here are some of the many, many examples from Twitter of LeBron breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record:
"This is one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history."
Some of the best to ever do it congratulate @KingJames
pic.twitter.com/3nNvmKVYAo — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 8, 2023
Abdul-Jabbar set the record on 1984 and played five more seasons to boost the total. It was previously held by Wilt Chamberlain, who retired with 31,419 points.
LeBron has had a brilliant age-38 season, entering play on Tuesday averaging 30.0 points per game. He may make the record unbreakable (and especially in the load-management era of the current NBA).
Next up: neverending LeBron James vs Michael Jordan GOAT debates.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.