Surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James became the All-Time leading scorer in the NBA on Tuesday night. Hitting 38, 388 points with a fadeaway jumper versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, he now sits atop the list of the best scorers in the game, ahead of Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan. It’s an impressive feat that will perhaps be talked about more than his four NBA Championship wins, the four times he became the Finals MVP, his 19 All-Star appearances (3x All-Star MVP), and Rookie of the Year award.
NBA on TNT tweeted, “This is one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history.” Jabbar handed him the game ball after he broke the record and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement saying: Congratulations to LeBron James for breaking one of the most hallowed records in all of sports by becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. It’s a towering achievement that speaks to his sustained excellence over 20 seasons in the league. And quite amazingly, LeBron continues to play at an elite level and his basketball history is still being written.”
A-list stars were out in full force to witness history and tributes from some of the most recognizable faces in any walk of life sent tributes to LeBron for taking the top spot.
LeBron thanked the Lakers faithful, he paid tribute to Kareem, thanked his family and “everybody that’s ever been a part of this run over the last 20 years.” He thanked the NBA and said he never would have dreamt it would be better than how it went down Tuesday night. “F— man, thank you guys,” he said.