There is no doubt that LeBron James will surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time scorer, and today, with the local sports betting platform OKBET watching together with the whole world, he finally completed the task in his 20th season.
He only needed 36 points to take the top spot from Abdul-Jabbar. Despite being injured, James, 38, was able to will himself to play to try and beat the record.
The pressure was high for the King going into the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Crypto.com Arena. Big names were in attendance to watch him make history.
Abdul-Jabbar was present in the game, as well as James’ former coach in the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ty Lue. His mother, Gloria, his family, his former high school teammates, and several notable personalities were also there. Media presence was there too, swarming the game to witness greatness unfold.
The King was all business heading to their match, determined to complete the feat before meeting the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. He was even seen practicing Abdul-Jabbar’s signature move, the skyhook.
James was already on a roll at the starting minutes, scoring eight of the Laker points by attacking the basket. By the end of the first quarter, he only needed 26 more points.
He continued his hot start in the second quarter, shooting two and-1s and converting them. He also made a three-pointer and four free throws to trim the goal to 16.
And It’s Done, James is NBA’s all-time scorer!
James’ signature fadeaway jumper in the third quarter sealed the deal and finally surpassed Abdul-Jabar, 38,387 in the scoring list. He has now 38, 388 points (and counting).
38,388 POINTS
LeBron James hits the fadeaway jumper to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer! #ScoringKing pic.twitter.com/P5LyTZAZn3
— NBA (@NBA) February 8, 2023
The Crypto.com Arena was filled with cheers following the shot, with Abdul-Jabar doing a standing ovation as James shattered his record.
A ceremony was then held to commemorate the shattering of a 39-year-old NBA record.
“I just want to say, you know, thank you to the Laker Faithful. You guys are one of a kind. To be able to [do it] in the presence of such a legend and greatest Kareem, it means so much to me, it’s very humbling,” James thanked the crowd. “Everybody that’s been a part of this run for the last 20-plus years, I just want to say thank you so much. Because I wouldn’t be me without all your help, all your passion, all your sacrifices to help me get to this point.”
He added, “I would never, ever, in a million years, dreamt this even better than what it is tonight. F*ck man, thank you, guys.”
A fadeaway for No. 1 and a fadeaway for No. 38,388.
Truly witnessing history from LeBron James 👑 pic.twitter.com/Mpq2Vx9bEB
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 8, 2023
Meanwhile, celebrities like Drake, Rihanna, Stephen Curry, and more have expressed their love and adoration for one of the greatest NBA players in history—LeBron James.
Rihanna, Steph, Drake & more show love to LeBron for breaking the NBA scoring record 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kbp3wJhFqt
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2023
At 38 years of age, LeBron is now a 19x All-Star, 18x All-NBA, 6x All-Defense, 4x Finals MVP, 4x MVP, and an all-time scoring leader.
Unfortunately, they lost 133-130. Nevertheless, it was an iconic moment for the Lakers to have a player breaking record-after-records.
Read more: Lebron James Quickly Becomes 4th All-Time Assist Leader!
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