It’s official. No one has scored more points in the history of the NBA than LeBron James.
The 38-year-old Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar put up 36 points in the first three quarters against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night to get his career total to 38,388 and surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Abdul-Jabbar held the record since April 5, 1984, nine months before James was even born.
James’ record-breaking basket came in the dying seconds of the third quarter. He received a pass from Russell Westbrook at the top of the key, got himself in the position, and then hit a 14-foot fadeaway jumper that etched his name in the history books.
After the basket went in, the game came to a halt with an impromptu celebration ceremony taking part on the court. James was congratulated by his family, teammates, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and Abdul-Jabbar, the man whose record he broke.
“Everything just stopped. It gave me an opportunity to embrace it and look around and seeing my family, the fans, my friends,” said James in a press conference after the game. “It was pretty cool. I probably can count on my hands how many times I have cried in 20 years, either in happiness or in defeat. So that moment was one of them when I kind of teared up a little bit. It was ‘I can’t believe what’s going on’ tears.”
James went on to finish the night with 38 points to improve his record to 38,390. Unfortunately, the Lakers couldn’t turn James’ big night into a winning effort, ending the night with a 133-130 loss to the OKC.
