"For him to pass up Kareem and possibly be named the greatest player ever" - Shaquille O'Neal reveals he is "professionally" jealous of LeBron James

LA Lakers forward LeBron James is getting closer every day to passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record and should he become the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, he would perhaps, become the greatest player of all time.

When asked about LeBron breaking his record, Kareem said:

"I think its about time. I'm not gonna get jealous of LeBron, he deserves it." (h/t) ESPN

Former NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal, on CBS Sports HQ, talked about how he feels about LeBron possibly becoming the greatest player to have ever played the game:

"For me it's a professional jealousy. I'm going to be honest with you, I wanted to, I was trying to pass up Wilt Chamberlain, if I would have passed up Wilt Chamberlain, I would have arrogantly said 'I'm the most dominant big man ever, I don't wanna hear nobody else's name'."

O'Neal is eighth on the all-time scoring list with 28,596 points, just under Wilt with 31,419 points. Shaq further added:

"Now I have to hear there were two most dominant players to ever play the game. I could've lived with that, but for him to pass up Kareem and possibly be named the greatest player ever, there's a lot of professional jealousy, but I wish him well."

LeBron is second on the list with 37,062 points, behind Kareem's 38,387. LeBron is projected to eclipse the record sometime next season.

Saving the Lakers are beyond even LeBron James' efforts

LeBron James sat out on Sunday against the Nuggets

The parity of LeBron James' career-season and possibly one of the worst seasons for the franchise he is playing for, despite playing with four hall-of-famers, is beyond comprehension for the basketball world.

The Lakers caved in yet again this season on Sunday, losing 118-129 to the Denver Nuggets. LeBron James sat out with an ankle injury. Anthony Davis' efforts were not enough to close the game, and was in and out of the game with ankle pain.

While LeBron averages a career-high 30.3 points per game, most active players on the Lakers roster don't even average 20 points per game. The next best is Anthony Davis with a little over 23 points per game, but he has unfortunately been out most of the season with injuries.

A couple of months ago, the Lakers' (31-47) playoff contention was in jeopardy, and now even their play-in contention is being questioned. In all probability, the Lakers will be out early this season.