Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been holding the top spot on the NBA’s all-time scoring list for so long that it would be understandable if he wasn’t too excited about handing it over to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James one day. But it turns out that’s not the case.
During a recent chat with NBA corresponded Marc Stein, Abdul-Jabbar said that that he won’t have an issue if James surpasses him as the league’s top scorer in the future. As a matter of fact, he is “excited to see it happen.”
“I don’t see records as personal accomplishments, but more as human achievements,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “If one person can do something that’s never been done, that means we all have a shot at doing it.”
“We all win when a record is broken, and if LeBron breaks mine, I will be right there to cheer him on,” he added.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who also played for the Lakers during his storied career, spent 20 years in the NBA before retiring following the 1988-89 season. At that point, he had 38,387 scored points and was comfortably on the top of the all-time scoring list ahead of Wilt Chamberlain, who had 31,419 points at the No. 2 spot.
Since then, six players have squeezed in between Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain, including Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Karl Malone. The second place is currently held by Malone, who has 36,928 points next to his name, while James is third with 35,367.
While James still has ways to go to have a shot at Abdul-Jabbar’s record, no one would be surprised if he manages to beat it. He is still one of the best players in the league even at 36 years old and has several more productive seasons ahead of him before he even thinks about retirement.
