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LeBron James has continued to rewrite the NBA record book, adding more feathers to his cap. The LA Lakers forward surpassed Karl Malone as the second all-time leading scorer in league history on Saturday.
James scored 38 points on Saturday during a 127-119 loss to the Washington Wizards, giving him 36,947 points. Malone retired in 2004 with 36,928 points.
Before breaking Malone's record, James recently became the first player to attain 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists.
Both are tremendous feats for an icon as he hungers for more record-breaking achievements.
Reacting to James surpassing Malone, analyst Chris Broussard described James' feat as "amazing" in a tweet. He made it clear he considers Michael Jordan the greatest player of all-time. But Boussard was impressed that James has more points than MJ (32,292) and is nearing Magic's total in assists (10,141). James has often been compared to both players.
Jordan has the highest scoring average in NBA history (30.12 points per game). However, he retired twice, played three years of college basketball and played only 15 NBA seasons. James has averaged 27.11 ppg in his career. That's fifth-best in league history. Kevin Durant is fourth at 27.13 ppg.
"Y’all know I have MJ ahead of LeBron, but this is amazing." Broussard wrote. "LeBron (often called a mix of MJ & Magic) will finish with more points than MJ and more assists than Magic. Impressive point to note as LeBron continues his assault on the record book."
Johnson is the league's career leader in assists per game (11.2). But he played two seasons at Michigan State and 12 seasons before retiring after being diagnosed with HIV. After four seasons away, he returned for 36 games in 1995-96.
James, who is in his 19th season and entered the league from high school, averages 7.35 apg (24th all-time). LeBron, who has 10,024 assists, is closing in on Johnson's total. He needs 118 to pass him. With 11 games remaining, James, averaging 6.2 per game this season, likely won't catch Magic this season but should do so early next season.
Will LeBron James become the all-time leading scorer in the NBA?
The NBA has been riddled with high-scoring players who have for decades retained their positions. Karl Malone had been the second-highest scoring player in league history since retiring in 2004 after 19 seasons. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has held the title with 38,387 points since leaving the league in 1989 after 20 seasons.
James has unseated Malone but is 1,441 points away from surpassing Abdul-Jabbar’s record. Is he on his way to becoming the all-time scoring leader in the NBA?
James, who has 1,580 points in 53 games this season, averaged 1,964.8 points per season in his first 18 seasons. If he stays healthy, James could beat Abdul-Jabbar's record in the coming season.
He made public his intention to play alongside his son, Bronny James, and Bronny couldn't make it to the NBA until 2024 at the earliest. The 2024-25 season would be James' 22nd. Only Vince Carter has played 22 NBA seasons.
It is safe to say that James could become the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
