The King's Quest: When will LeBron pass Kareem?

LeBron James
is on the verge of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Abdul-Jabbar has been atop the career points list since April 5, 1984, when he broke the mark previously held by Wilt Chamberlain. Now James has that record
within reach.

So when will James score the 63 points he needs to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s career total of 38,387? That depends.

– If James averages 31.5 points per game over his next two games, he’ll break the mark at home Feb. 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is averaging 30.1 PPG this season.

– If James averages 21.0 points per game over his next three games, he’ll break the mark at home Feb. 9 against the Milwaukee Bucks. He is averaging 27.2 PPG for his career.

This all assumes James plays every game between now and when he breaks the record. After sitting out Monday’s game against the Nets, he has missed 11 games this season.

We’ll have ongoing coverage of The King’s quest, including updated game-by-game projections and complete
stats, throughout the season.

JAMES VS. ABDUL-JABBAR

Despite missing 11 games this season, James has already blown past
Abdul-Jabbar’s point total during his entire 20th and final season. James has scored 1,263 points in 42 games in 2022-23; Abdul-Jabbar scored 748 for the 1988-89 season.