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By Jason Hanna and David Close, CNN
4 minute read
Updated 11:23 AM EST, Wed February 8, 2023
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LeBron James' legacy as the NBA's all-time top scorer
02:48 - Source: CNN
CNN —
King James is now the king of NBA scoring.
LeBron James became the association’s all-time leading scorer in the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, surpassing the record that six-time NBA MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had held for 39 years.
With 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter, James sank a fadeaway jumper from the left elbow – scoring his 36th point of the game and 38,388th of his career. He stretched his arms in celebration as the supercharged crowd at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena went into a frenzy.
Officials paused the game to honor him on the court, where his mother, wife and children met and embraced him. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver congratulated him, and Abdul-Jabbar – in attendance and clapping as James neared the record – raised a basketball aloft before handing it to James as if relinquishing the scoring crown itself.
“I just want to say thank you to the Laker faithful. You guys are one of a kind,” James said into a microphone.
He asked the crowd to give Abdul-Jabbar a standing ovation.
“Everybody that’s ever been a part of this run with me the last … 20-plus years, I just want to say I thank you so much, because I wouldn’t be me without y’all.”
James scored two more points in the fourth quarter in a 133-130 loss – a disappointment for a team now two games behind the Western Conference’s final slot for the NBA’s play-in tournament. But the night – like so many moments in his career – belonged to him.
The 38-year-old needed fewer games than the legendary goggles-wearing center to hit the top of the scoring list – 1,410 to Abdul-Jabbar’s 1,560. James’ record-breaking feat is even more impressive given he’s widely considered a pass-first player in the league, recently claiming the fourth spot in the NBA’s all-time assist list.
The record fulfills one more promise that James seemed to hold when he made the jump from high school to the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers as a highly touted 18-year-old hoops prodigy in 2003 – a year after a Sports Illustrated cover story dubbed him “The Chosen One.”
The accomplishment comes alongside his four NBA championships and four league MVP awards. Silver released a statement congratulating James “on breaking one of the most hallowed records in all of sports.”
“It’s a towering achievement that speaks to his sustained excellence over 20 seasons in the league. And quite amazingly, LeBron continues to play at an elite level and his basketball history is still being written,” Silver’s statement reads.
A legendary status
LeBron James does his chalk toss ritual before a game in 2008. Basketball players use chalk to help them grip the ball better.
James was born in Akron, Ohio, on December 30, 1984. He is 6 months old, he said, in this photo he posted to Instagram for his 35th birthday.
A young James plays on a toy basketball hoop at Christmas time. "I guess I was kinda born to do this," he said on Instagram.
James, left, poses with some of his teammates at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School during his freshman year.
James throws down a dunk during a game in Trenton, New Jersey, in February 2003. James was just a junior in high school when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as "The Chosen One." He was such a star that ESPN aired some of his high school games.
James shakes hands with NBA star Michael Jordan after Jordan played a game in Cleveland in April 2003. James chose the number 23 because of Jordan.
As expected, James went straight from high school to the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick in the league draft. He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, a long-suffering franchise close to his hometown of Akron.
James goes up for a layup during his NBA debut on October 29, 2003. He scored 25 points in a loss at Sacramento. In his first season in the NBA, James won the league's Rookie of the Year Award.
James played on the US Olympic basketball team in August 2004, but it ended with a disappointing bronze medal. He would be back.
James, center, goes up for a rebound with Tim Duncan during the 2006 NBA All-Star Game. He was named the game's most valuable player — the youngest to ever receive the award.
James sits with his young son, Bronny, and teammate Drew Gooden during a game in Cleveland in March 2007.
James misses a potential game-tying 3-pointer in Game 3 of the 2007 NBA Finals. James' Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
James hosts the ESPY Awards in July 2007. This played off his "King James" nickname.
James appears on stage with rapper Jay-Z during a Cleveland concert for presidential candidate Barack Obama in October 2008.
James, seen here between Dwyane Wade and head coach Mike Krzyzewski, returned to the Olympics in August 2008 as part of the "Redeem Team" that went on to win gold.
James celebrates after hitting a game-winning shot to win a playoff game against Orlando in May 2009.
James won his first league MVP award in May 2009. He would also win the award in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
James gets a kiss from his mother after a playoff game in May 2010.
In July 2010, James speaks with ESPN's Jim Gray at the Boys & Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was there that he announced, live on an ESPN program called "The Decision," that he would be leaving Cleveland to play for the Miami Heat. "I'm going to take my talents to South Beach," said James, who was a free agent. The show raised millions of dollars for the Boys & Girls Club, but James' decision to leave Cleveland — and announce it live on national television — was criticized by many.
James greets Miami fans during a pep rally at the American Airlines Arena in July 2010. He was joined by Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, the other two stars in the Heat's "Big 3" superteam. During the event, James boasted about how many titles they would win together.
Wade reacts as James dunks the ball during a game in Milwaukee in December 2010. They made the NBA Finals in their first season together but lost to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.
James reads in the locker room before an NBA Finals game in June 2012. The Heat were back in the Finals, this time facing the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James dunks over Serge Ibaka during Game 2 of the Finals in June 2012. The Heat went on to win in five games, giving James his first NBA title.
James celebrates with teammates after the Heat won the 2012 NBA Finals. James is holding the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, right, and the Bill Russell Finals MVP Award.
James was part of the 2012 Olympic team that successfully defended its gold medal in London.
James describes his excitement as the Heat visit the White House in January 2013: "We're in the White House right now, which is like 'Mama, I made it.'"
James and the Heat defended their title in the 2013 NBA Finals, defeating San Antonio in seven games. James was once again Finals MVP.
James and Savannah Brinson attend the 2013 ESPY Awards in July 2013. The two married in September of that year. They have three children together: Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri.
James appears on a Nike poster outside Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena in October 2014, a few months after he announced that he would be returning to the Cavaliers as a free agent.
James poses with his new "Big 3" in Cleveland: Kevin Love, left, and Kyrie Irving.
James appears as himself in the 2015 comedic film "Trainwreck" starring Bill Hader, right, and Amy Schumer.
James, seen here in March 2015, was determined to bring Cleveland its first championship in franchise history. "I'm ready to accept the challenge," he said when he revealed his plans to return to the Cavaliers. "I"m coming home." The Cavs made the NBA Finals in his first season back, but they fell short to the Golden State Warriors.
James runs down Golden State's Andre Iguodala on a play in the 2016 NBA Finals that became known simply as "The Block." The defensive play, late in Game 7, helped lift the Cavaliers past the Warriors in what was a rematch from the year before.
An emotional James hugs Love after Cleveland defeated Golden State to win the title in 2016.
James tries to direct teammate J.R. Smith on a last-second play in the 2018 NBA Finals. The Cavaliers and the Warriors played in four straight NBA Finals, from 2015 to 2018. The Warriors won three of the four.
James addresses a crowd at the grand opening of his "I Promise" school in Akron in July 2018. James' foundation teamed with the Akron Public Schools system to open a school supporting at-risk children.
James signed a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in July 2018. Here, he drives to the basket during a home game against Washington in November 2019.
James and the Lakers won a title together in 2020, when the entire playoffs were held in Florida because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was James' fourth NBA title.
James appears with Tweety Bird in the film "Space Jam: A New Legacy" in 2021.
James poses with his two sons — Bronny, left, and Bryce — at his former high school in Akron in July 2022. Bronny was one of the best high school players in the country, and his dad said he wants to finish his career by playing with him in the NBA.
James breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record of 38,387 points during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7, 2023.
James scores his 40,000th career point during a game against the Denver Nuggets on March 2, 2024. He is the first player in NBA history accomplish the milestone.
In pictures: NBA great LeBron James
After the game, TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal asked James about whether he was the greatest player of all time.
“I am going to let everybody else decide who that is or just talk about it. It’s great barbershop talk,” James responded at first.
When O’Neal pressed, James said: “I am going to take myself against anybody who has played this game. But everyone is going to have their favorite, everyone is going to decide who their favorite is. I know what I bring to the table every single night and what I can do out on this floor.”
“I always feel like I am the best to ever play this game, but there are so many other great ones that I am happy to just be a part of their journey.”
James told TNT he still has more in the tank.
“I know I can play a couple more years. The way I’m feeling, the way my body’s been reacting to me throughout this course of the season, I know I can play a couple more years.”
“It’s just all about my mind. If my mind is still into it, if I’m still motivated to go out and try to compete for championships, because I feel like that’s what I can still do for any group of guys, for any franchise. I can go out there and still help win multiple championships or win a championship.”
LeBron James after scoring to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record as the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
The scoring record was “something I never made a goal of mine or set out to do – it just happened,” he said, and credited great teammates and great coaches that allowed him to be “me.”
Luminaries from the NBA and beyond, including Dwight Howard, Paul Gasol and boxer Manny Pacquiao saluted him on social media.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who was at Tuesday’s game and helped lure James to the Lakers in 2018 when he was the team’s president of basketball operations, hailed James on Twitter as “such an amazing man on and off the court.”
“I want to personally thank you LeBron for trusting & believing in me & the Lakers in 2018 … Everything you said you would do, you’ve done; led the Lakers to a championship, elevated the Lakers brand, & gave back to the city of LA!” Johnson tweeted.
The Miami Heat, with whom James won two NBA titles, tweeted: “Congrats @KingJames! What a time. What an accomplishment. Proud of you, #ScoringKing.”
CNN’s Steve Almasy, Matias Grez and Kevin Dotson contributed to this report.
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