LOS ANGELES, CA — From Wilt to Kareem to LeBron.
In seemingly fitting fashion, LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with his own signature 15-foot fadeaway shot in the third quarter vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 133-130 loss, to reach 39,388 career points.
In front of a packed Crypto.Com arena with Hollywood a-listers as well as his two sons present, James scored surpassed the man born as Lew Alcindor and known as “The Captain” and six-time NBA champion, who starred nearby at UCLA, in scoring 16 points in the third quarter.
Thanks to the advent of the three point shot, James surpassed Abdul-Jabbar in 100-plus less games, while averaging 27.8 points per game at age 38.
Set in April of 1984 in Las Vegas vs the Utah Jazz, and nine months before James was born, James has since gone on to amass a storied career and many accolades in winning four NBA titles in Miami, his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and most recently the Lakers in 2020.
While he has many accomplishments such as winning five NBA MVP’s, 19 All Star Games and 4 NBA Finals MVP’s, and forever being the flashpoint of the eternal GOAT argument vs. Michael Jordan, few can debate his place after surpassing Abdul Jabar and cementing his place alongside his Airness.