By The Numbers: Why LeBron James will become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer

LeBron James needs 36 points to become the NBA’s regular season all-time leading scorer, eclipsing a record that has stood for 39 years. 

And whether he passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 points on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks or, heaven forbid, he has two extremely off games at home and he doesn’t do it until Saturday against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, he certainly will break the record.   

Watch LeBron James as he attempts to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record

LeBron James needs just 36 points to become the NBA’s regular season all-time leading scorer and pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You can watch him try and do it against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on Sportsnet or SN NOW.

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But when James decides to call it a career and we reminisce on his greatness, it’s hard to say what he will be remembered for the most. 

Will it be his jaw-dropping feats of athleticism on both ends of the floor including arguably the greatest defensive play in NBA Finals history?  His cerebral ability to always make the right play and be one step ahead of his opponent?  Bringing a title back to Cleveland? Or what about his ability to pass the basketball? After all, he is No. 4 on the NBA’s all-time assists list. 

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Some of his critics will probably choose to remember him for his six NBA Finals losses or his creation of the “super-team” era. 

But will anyone think “scorer” when they first think of LeBron? Probably not. And rightfully so, as even James himself doesn’t see himself in that light.

“The scoring record was never ever even thought of in my head because I’ve always been a pass-first guy,” James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin in early January. “I’ve always loved the excitement of seeing the success of my teammates. That’s just the way I was brought up.”

He is well aware that he can score, but he’s never thought of his ability to put the ball through the hoop as his primary feature. 

“When I say I’m not a scorer, I say it in the sense of it’s never been the part of my game that defines me,” James told McMenamin. 

However, maybe it should be. After all, he is about to set the scoring record that may very well not be even sniffed by another player in our lifetime. His longevity and consistency are absolutely factors to consider, but isn’t the ability to score at different points in their career, and under different circumstances, part of what makes a great scorer? 

But that is an argument for another day, as LeBron continues to show no signs of slowing down, and will ultimately end up pushing the record to new heights.

So let us instead take a look at how exactly he became the league’s top points man. 

For that, we have to go all the way back to Oct. 29, 2003, when the then 18-year-old James made his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Sacramento Kings. It was arguably the most anticipated debut of any athlete in any sport, with pressure being placed on a teenager’s shoulders like nothing we had ever seen before.

But LeBron didn’t disappoint, scoring 25 points in his first career game to go along with six rebounds and nine assists.

The first two points of his career came on a smooth baseline jumper from the right side just over three minutes into the contest. It was the first shot of his career, and his first make. 

His second bucket was another baseline jumper, this time falling away from the left side. 

For his third basket… still with us? 

While both verbal play-by-plays were legit, we will leave the cataloging of every single James point to an ultra-dedicated fan. 

Instead, let’s dive into some of the jaw-dropping numbers that led to James becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. 

1,410: If LeBron breaks the record on Tuesday against the Thunder, it will have taken him exactly 1,410 regular-season games to do so. Meanwhile, Kareem scored his 38,387 points in 1,560 games. 

27.2: James has a career regular scoring average of 27.2 points per game. He actually has a higher average of 28.7 in the playoffs. 

2,478: The best season in terms of total points for James was the 2005-06 season, his third year in the league. He scored 2,478 points over 79 games, and also led the Cavaliers to the playoffs, the first appearance of his career. This was also the season he had the best overall average of his career, scoring at a 31.4-point-per-game clip 

2,233: Part of the reason LeBron was about to track down Kareem’s record in fewer games was the addition of the NBA’s three-point line in 1979 — 10 years after Kareem’s debut. James has made 2,233 threes over his career, good for ninth all-time in the NBA. Kareem’s career total in threes made? Just one. That’s a 6,696-point difference right there for the folks keeping track at home. 

.505: James has made more shots than he’s missed. He is a 50.5-per-cent field goal shooter for his career, making 14,040 of the 27,809 shots he’s taken. We guess he probably qualifies for the 10,000-hour rule. 

61: LeBron’s career high in points in a game is 61, when he caught fire on March 3, 2014 against the Charlotte Bobcats. Then a member of the Miami Heat, James and company rolled to a 124-107 victory in front of the home fans. It is still the only time LeBron has cracked the 60-point mark, with his second-highest output being 57 points against the Washington Wizards.

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30: No team was safe against a LeBron scoring outburst, as he is the only player in NBA history to score at least 40 points against all 30 NBA teams. He actually checked off the last team just recently, scoring 46 against the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 24. Who does he have the most against, you ask? That would be the Bucks, who he has scored 40-or-more against six times.

1,751: Look away Bucks fans, because it only gets worse. Someone had to be LeBron’s favourite punching bag over his career, and it looks like it was the Bucks. His 1,751 points against Milwaukee are his most against one team. The Indiana Pacers are runners-up, giving up 1,743 to the King. On the flip side, the Cavaliers are the team he has scored the least against, which makes sense given his two separate stints in Cleveland. Although, oddly enough, the team he has the highest average per game against is the Cavaliers, at 29 points per game. 

8,039: Everyone loves freebies, even LeBron. He has made 8,039 free throws in his career, good for fourth all-time. His career shooting percentage from the charity stripe is currently 73.5 per cent.

53,708: James has played the third most minutes in NBA history, with 53,708 minutes on the court over his career. The only two players ahead of him? Karl Malone and Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem has played the most minutes in NBA history, stepping on the floor for 57,446 total minutes before calling it a career. Not bad for two of the most durable athletes of their generations.

14: James has scored over 50 points 14 different times in his NBA career. The first 50-point game of his career came against the Toronto Raptors on March 20, 2005 when he scored 56 points, setting the Cavaliers’ single-game scoring record in the process. 

1,139: Consistency has been key for LeBron, and nothing outlines that more than his NBA record 1,139 games in a row scoring at least 10 points, which is still active. He broke Michael Jordan’s record of 866 straight games back on Mar. 30, 2018. 

56: LeBron is continuing to prove that age is just a number. At age 37, James scored 56 points as the Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors last March. He joined Laker legend Kobe Bryant as the only two players in league history who have scored 55-plus at age 37 or older. 

50,000: Now hear us out. This number hasn’t happened yet, but is it out of the question that LeBron hits the 50,000-point mark? He has been vocal about wanting to play with his son Bronny, who isn’t eligible to enter the league until the 2024-25 season at the earliest. If he closes in on 40,000 by the end of this season, is it too crazy that he plays another four to five seasons and gets close to 50,000? Maybe. But if anyone could do it, it would be the Kid from Akron. 

* All stats up to date as of Feb. 6, 2023

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