LeBron James has solidified his place as the king of the NBA.
On Tuesday night, James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time NBA scoring record of 38,387 points.
The big moment came at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder. James made a 21-foot jump shot with 10.9 seconds left on the clock in the third quarter, per ESPN.
—NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 8, 2023
Entering the game, James needed 36 points to break the record.
James thanked Lakers fans and asked the crowd to give Abdul-Jabbar a standing ovation.
"Everybody that's ever been a part of this run with me for the last 20 years, the last 20 plus years, I just want to say thank you so much because I wouldn't be me without you all," James went on, specifically calling out his wife, daughter, two sons, and mom.
—NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 8, 2023
James is in his 20th NBA season and fifth with the Los Angeles Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar also scored his points in 20 seasons, including 14 with the Lakers.
Before breaking the record, James talked about being on the brink of the all-time scoring record.
"It's still mind-boggling to myself," James told ESPN. "I've set out goals throughout my whole career — I wanted to be Rookie of the Year, I wanted to be MVP in this league, I wanted to win championships, be an All-Star. I wanted to lead the league in assists. I wanted to make All-Defensive team, be Defensive Player of the Year. I never said I wanted to lead the league in scoring, or for sure never said I wanted to be the all-time leader in scoring. That's never been a dream of mine. To sit here and actually be on the brink of it happening, it's pretty crazy."
Before the season, Abdul-Jabbar said he was looking forward to the record being broken.
"I'm excited to see it happen," Abdul-Jabbar told Marc Stein. "I don't see records as personal accomplishments, but more as human achievements. If one person can do something that's never been done, that means we all have a shot at doing it."
James, 38, has indicated previously that he would like to play at least two more seasons so that he can be in the NBA at the same time as his oldest son, Bronny James, which could happen as early as the 2024-25 season.
"I need to be on the floor with my boy, I got to be on the floor with Bronny," James told ESPN. "Either in the same uniform or a matchup against him. I don't mean like [guarding one another all game] — because he's a point guard and I'm a, at this point now I'm playing center or whatever the team needs from me. But I would love to do the whole Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. thing. That would be ideal for sure."
Bronny is a senior in high school and is believed to be leaning towards attending USC, Ohio State, or Oregon next year.
