LeBron James can now officially set his sights on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
James surpassed Karl Malone on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on Saturday night in the Los Angeles Lakers’ matchup with the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.
He now sits less than 1,500 points shy of Abdul-Jabbar, the league’s all-time scoring leader.
James entered Saturday’s game just 19 points shy of tying Malone, who scored 36,928 total points throughout his career. James matched Malone’s mark midway through the second quarter after he started the game shooting 8-of-12 from the field. He then caught a pass from Stanley Johnson for an easy layup to officially pass Malone and get into second — which prompted a standing ovation from the Washington crowd.
Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in his career, which is 1,459 points more than Malone did. Though James is undoubtedly reaching the end of his NBA career, the 37-year-old should come close to the all-time record. He had more than 1,500 points already this season entering Saturday’s contest, and has scored at least that many in all but one of his seasons in the league.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.