Basketball hero LeBron James is the NBA's all-time top scorer, but he isn't finished yet.
The Lakers star, who turned 39 on 30 December 2023, overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in career points during a memorable game on Tuesday 7 February 2023, scoring 38 to give himself a total of 38,390 regular season points, in a 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Abdul-Jabbar had held the record with 38,387 points in regular season games.
Three-time Team USA Olympian and two-time gold medal winner LeBron has since continued to extend his record. He moved on to 38,652 regular season points at the conclusion of the 2022/23 season, but surpassed the 39,000 mark early in the 2023/24 campaign, and progressed beyond 40,000 on 2 March 2023 in a defeat to the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, taking his total tally beyond 48,000 career points total between the regular season and playoffs.
The 2023/24 season has also seen him become the first man to lift the NBA Cup, after his Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers 123-109 in the final of the NBA In-Season Tournament on Saturday 9 December 2023. He ended the 2023/24 campaign with 40,474 regular season points, with the LA Lakers again making it to the NBA Playoffs.
Three-time Olympic gold medallist Kevin Durant moved above Moses Malone into 10th place in December 2023 and is the only other active player in the top 10.
Durant has since overtaken fellow Olympic gold medallists Carmelo Anthony and Shaquille O'Neal this season to go eighth on the all-time list, but he has a long way to go to reach Wilt Chamberlain in seventh place, according to the NBA.
LeBron James also holds the record for playoff points. He surpassed 8,000 in the 2022/2023 season, and has set about adding to that mark already in 2023/24
Retired great Michael Jordan is second on the playoff points list with 5,987.
And the 2023/24 season saw another first - LeBron playing in the NBA's new Play-In Tournament, after the regular season, with the final Playoff berths on offer. LeBron scored 23 points in his only play-in appearance, taking him up to 40,497 points in non-Play-off games, and past the 48,500 mark overall.
In a sport where discussion rages as to who is the greatest of all time - with Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Larry Bird all in the mix - two-time Olympic gold medallist James continues to prove why he should be considered the GOAT of the men's game, and could add to that legacy at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
NBA’s All-time scoring lists: Top 10
LeBron James: Career records and stats
- NBA Rookie of the Year: 2004
- Four-time NBA Champion: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020
- Four-time NBA Finals MVP: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020
- Four-time NBA MVP: 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
- 18-time NBA All-Star selection: 2005-2022
- Three-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2006, 2008, 2018
- Three-time Olympic medallist (gold: Beijing 2008, London 2012, bronze: Athens 2004)
- FIBA World Cup medallist (bronze: 2006)
- Only player in NBA history to have at least 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists
- Only player in NBA history to score 10 points or more in 1,000 consecutive games
- First player to pass 39,000 and 40,000 regular season points in the NBA.
- First man to pass 6,000, 7,000, and 8,000 NBA playoff points.
