38,388 Points And Counting, LeBron James Is Officially The NBA's All Time Leading Scorer

Andrew D. Bernstein. Getty Images.

The day was April 5th 1984. The Lakers were on the road playing the Jazz when Kareem-Abdul Jabbar went up with his patented sky hook and officially passed Wilt Chamberlain to become the NBA's All Time Leading scorer.

A few months later in December 1984, a baby named LeBron James entered the world. Little did Kareem know at the time, but 14,187 days from that historic skyhook, that baby would officially pass him to become the current All Time Scoring leader in NBA history. 

A record that stood for 39 years came to an end tonight, and while I think most considered this just a matter of time, that doesn't mean we shouldn't take a second and appreciate the caliber of history we just witnessed.

Advertisement

If Kareem's record stood for 39 years, we may see LeBron's record stand for twice as long. Even with the help of the three point line, it's still wildly impressive that LeBron achieved this feat in 150 fewer games and 3,738  fewer minutes. I know some out there try and just put this on longevity, but the longevity is what makes this number so impressive. You realize how good you have to be and for how long you have to sustain that to get to over 38,000 points?? That's an insane number. The fact that we have multiple seasons to add to LeBron's now record number means he'll probably be well over 40,000 points. Just think about that for a second. 

You know who the next closest active player is? Kevin Durant. Only one of the greatest scorers in the history of the NBA. A generational talent and then some. Guess how many points he has? 

26,684 (and counting)

He's nowhere close. James Harden? 24,233. Steph Curry? 21,183. You can kind of see my point here. Who knows if many of us will see someone take this spot over from LeBron in our lifetimes. When you start talking about these types of records, it's as big as it gets at the NBA level. Then you remember LeBron is also 4th all time in assists and he truly is one of one. A gigantic egomaniac, but his talent is pretty undeniable. I think it's fair to say we'll probably never see another LeBron James again.

Meanwhile, the Lakers are currently in a dogfight with the Thunder as this game moves into the fourth quarter. It would be absolutely perfect for LeBron to have his historic night, only for the Lakers to lose this game. That would be very funny to watch and hear LeBron try and talk about this huge individual moment despite his team ultimately failing. These Thunder man, they just don't give a fuck. They'll beat whoever, wherever. 

That's a team that's going to be pretty damn good before you know it.