AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James reached yet another milestone on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors.
By scoring his 44,150th point, the future Hall of Famer surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points across the NBA regular season and playoffs.
Abdul-Jabbar is still recognized as the all-time scorer with 38,387 points in the regular season, but that may not be the gold standard for too much longer, considering James is hot on his heels with 36,521 points and counting.
“I’ve never chased a record in my life,” the four-time MVP said in January. “I’ve never said, ‘OK, let me see if I can get this record, let me see if I can get that record.'”
However, he also conceded it was “natural, human, to look at it and see where you are” in the NBA record books when approaching a major benchmark.
The present state of the Lakers might put a bit of a damper on this achievement.
Los Angeles sits ninth in the Western Conference standings at 26-30 entering Saturday, and making another quick postseason exit—assuming the Lakers even get there—is a very real possibility.
James would’ve overtaken Abdul-Jabbar earlier in the season were it not for a pair of injuries that forced him out of action. He missed eight games in November because of an abdominal strain and then experienced swelling in his knee in January, which required a brief layoff.
The 37-year-old remains perfectly capable of looking like the best player on the planet in a given night. His 33 points, seven rebounds and six assists were instrumental in leading a victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 25.
But James might finally be succumbing to the aging curve after having enjoyed a level of durability and consistency rarely seen by an athlete of his age.
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