 "LeBron James becomes highest points scorer in NBA history, surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar")
Los Angeles: LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was seated courtside, as the highest scorer in NBA history on Wednesday. The record had stood for 39 years. Coming into the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers star James needed 36 points to outdo Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points. He got to the mark late in the third quarter with a two point jumper having scored 20 points in the first half.
The fans roared every point scored by James as he inched toward the mark held since April 1984 by Abdul-Jabbar. James’ mother, wife and three children also watched from courtside amid the thousands who rose in waves of anticipation nearly every time James touched the ball. Reactions: How NBA reacted to LeBron James’ record achieving moment Both players needed 20 seasons to get to 38,387 points with LeBron playing fewer games.
Each Lakers possession seemed weighted with anticipation, and James has always thrived under such pressure: He hit a 3-pointer with 7:06 left in the first quarter for his first bucket, and he kept playing after getting hit in the face by an inadvertent elbow moments later. The newly established record is unlikely to be taken away anytime soon. The closest player currently in the NBA to James on the all-time list is Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, who has 26,684 points. Durant would probably have to play at least another six or seven seasons just to catch Abdul-Jabbar’s mark — and who knows how far James will raise the bar by then. Philadelphia’s James Harden and the Lakers’ Russell Westbrook are just over 24,000 points apiece. Both of them are all-time greats, but they’re not going to catch James.
Dallas’ Luka Doncic is averaging 27.4 points per game so far in his career. But for as great as Doncic is, he’ll need to average that many points for another 14 seasons or so before he gets to the 38,000-point mark. Inside the building in Los Angeles, dozens of celebrities gathered to witness history: Denzel Washington, Jay-Z, Bad Bunny, LL Cool J, Usher, Andy Garcia and countless others. Dozens of basketball greats also turned out, including Lakers heroes James Worthy and Bob McAdoo along with Dwyane Wade. The biggest star in the crowd was Abdul-Jabbar, who has verbally sparred with James in public over issues not directly related to basketball. The Lakers legend known to all as Cap wasn’t about to miss history. (with inputs from AP) Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .