LeBron James career points: How many more points has the LA Lakers star scored than Michael Jordan

LeBron James passed LA Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabar as the NBA's all-time scoring king as he sank a midrange jumper with 10.9 seconds left in the third. That bucket gave King James 38,388 points, topping Abdul-Jabar's mark of 38,387.

Since then, James has continued to rack up points as he has 38,530 points and counting. With such a huge accomplishment, it adds another layer to the discussion surrounding LBJ and Michael Jordan in the debate regarding the greatest to ever do it.

In terms of all-time scoring, Michael Jordan has 32,292 points in the fifth spot (in 1,072 games). He played 15 seasons, with one shortened by a broken foot (18 games) and coming out of retirement for 17 games of another. In his other 11 full seasons with the Chicago Bulls, he led the NBA in scoring 10 times. He still holds the league record for scoring average (30.12).

Jordan was previously in the fourth spot, but was passed by the late Kobe Bryant on Dec. 14, 2014, against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The LA Lakers icon finished his career with 33,643 points.

Scoring comparison between Michael Jordan and LeBron James

Michael Jordan and LeBron James both have different playstyles and scoring characteristics.

Jordan was fluid with his fundamentals and refined them to the point that he was unguardable. He matched his incredible athleticism by being able to go the basket with strength and finesse while also being capable of knocking down jumpers.

During his rookie season, Michael averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting as he played all 82 games of the season and didn't even miss a beat. Jordan never averaged below 20.0 ppg (which came in his final season, 2002-03), with his highest scoring average at 32.6 ppg during the 1989-1990 regular season for the Chicago Bulls

LeBron James, on the other hand, was even more athletic than Jordan when he came to the NBA during his rookie season in 2003, averaging 20.9 ppg on 41.7% shooting. James was a force with his dribble penetration due to his speed, strength and size as a forward, which was not that common around the league at the time.

Since then, LeBron developed his perimeter shooting to add more to his offensive game, similar to Jordan. His highest scoring average was 30.3 ppg, which came last season with the LA Lakers.