LeBron James is regarded by many to be one of the all-time greats ever to set foot on the basketball court. This is not just an opinion. His number speaks for themselves. James, who is currently playing th twentieth season of his career, entered the season as the second-highest scorer in the history of the NBA. Before the start of the 22-23 season, King James had 37,062 points, in total, 379 games played in his career, second only to the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
On the other hand, the start of the season has not been ideal for King James. He was toiling through poor form. On top of that, several injuries also obstructed his way. However, there is a thing about great players; they are not defined by setbacks but rather by comebacks. Similarly, in LeBron\’s case, he has been virtually unstoppable ever since his return to action following a groin injury. As LeBron James Is cruising to the top scorer mark in the NBA, let\’s take a look at how his path will be from here.
How Close Is LeBron James To Kareem Abdul-Jabbar\’s NBA Record?
On Monday night, the Los Angeles Lakers appeared to be cruising to their sixth victory in seven games as they held a 17-point lead against the Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter. But the Pacers used every remaining second of the game to script an epic comeback. As a result, they defeated the Lakers by one point. Although continuing his form LeBron James amassed 21 points in the game.
As of now, James is standing with 37,392 regular-season points in his career. With this, he is just 995 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar\’s all-time NBA record of 38,387. Talking about his current game score, James is averaging 25.4 points per game.
James is only 40 games away from breaking the record if he plays every game and maintains his scoring average of 25.4 points per game. On February 15, when LA plays host to the New Orleans Pelicans, he will pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar if things continue this way. On the other side, on Thursday, February 9, 2023, it is speculated that LeBron will surpass Kareem if he continues to score at his lifetime rate of 27.1 points per game.
However, it won\’t change the reality that James is not enjoying his finest season. James has displayed significant weaknesses due to a number of absences, as well as some poor shot selection and defense. That was made clear on Monday night when the team lost to the Indiana Pacers despite having a 17-point lead. James wasn\’t entirely to blame for this, but he wasn\’t as reliable as he normally is.
Despite his rare mistakes, James is still one of the league\’s most reliable players. LeBron James has been playing frequently and scoring a lot of points. He has dealt with his own issues. There is no question in my mind. But James has persisted in being a key member of the squad.