No one in the NBA has scored more points that counted than LeBron James,
The Los Angeles Lakers star remains a little under 2,000 points behind Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA’s all-time scoring title, but if you factor in points scored in the playoffs — which do not factor into the official list — James just passed Abdul-Jabbar’s 44,149 combined points.
The 37-year-old James took control of the title with a 3-pointer in the third quarter of Saturday’s game against the Golden State Warriors.
James reached the top in fewer games than Abdul-Jabbar as well, with only 1,616 career games to Abdul-Jabbar’s 1,797.
The achievement speaks to a number of components of James’ greatness. Few, if any, players have been more consistent in scoring when on the floor, as evidenced by James’ record double-digit scoring streak, which is still ongoing.
James has been a star basically since he entered the league at 18 years old, and remained a star in the 19 seasons since. His eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances has given him plenty of games to add to his total. He has also stayed healthy, playing at least 60 games in all but one non-shortened season entering this year.
Most of all, though, James has evolved. He has never not been a terror driving into the paint, but his rise to the top of the NBA coincided with an improved post game and he has stayed effective in recent years thanks to improved 3-point shooting.