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LeBron James took over the crown as the NBA's all-time scoring leader from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with only 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter of the OKC Thunder-LA Lakers game on Tuesday.
The LA Lakers superstar passed Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 38,387 points with a fadeaway jumper from the foul line. James made 12-of-18 across three quarters to seal the record. He scored 20 points in the first half and 16 in the third quarter.
James was 36 points shy of the record at the start of the game. He got off to a slow start as OKC guarded him well. However, LeBron James didn't take long to make adjustments. He attacked the rim more and drew plenty of fouls that helped him break the record within three quarters. James went to the foul line 10 times.
The Lakers trailed by 15 points at one stage, so the sense of urgency was evident. After LeBron James made history, the NBA hosted a small ceremony for him where he thanked his family, colleagues and fans for their support throughout the years. Here's what he said:
"Thank you to the Laker faithful, you guys are one of a kind... "To my beautiful wife, my daughter, my two boys, my friends, family my mother, man everybody that's been a part of this ride with me for the last 20+ years, I just wanted to say thank you so much, because I wouldn't be me without y'all.
He added:
"All your passion, all your sacrifices, helping me get to this point. And to the NBA, to Adam Silver, to the late great David Stern, I thank you guys so much for allowing me to be a part of something I've always dreamed about. And I would never ever in a million years dreamt this even better than what it is tonight, so f**k man, thank you guys!"
"King James" fought back tears before taking over the microphone from league commissioner Adam Silver. The record holder for the last 38 years, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, hugged and embraced James during the ceremony.
LeBron James overcomes poor start to the season to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on all-time scoring list
LeBron James struggled to score efficiently earlier in the season, averaging 24.5 points on 45.8% field goal shooting across his first 11 games. Both these statistics were his worst since his rookie year.
It seemed as if "Father Time" had eventually started to catch up to "King James." But it didn't take long for him to turn the corner. Since Nov. 30, he has averaged 32.0 points per game, shooting 52.5% from the field. This helped him break the record during Tuesday's contest against OKC. It was his 44th game of the season. James has missed 11 games so far.
