What LeBron needs to average next season to pass Kareem in total points? (2024)

FAQs

What LeBron needs to average next season to pass Kareem in total points? ›

James has 37,062 points scored, while Abdul-Jabbar –38,387. According to ClutchPoints, LeBron will only need to average 16.2 points per game next season to break the record. But he needs to play in all 82 regular-season matches.

James, 38, a four-time NBA champion and Most Valuable Player who only won the league's single-season scoring title once, needed 36 points to pass Abdul-Jabbar's old record of 38,387.

If he manages to hang around for another four years, he could conceivably make it to 46,000 points. But that is not a realistic outcome. The fact is that Time catches up with us slowly rather than all at once. His 30 points per game average will likely slip to 25, then 20, then maybe even less.

Therefore, our projected career point total for LeBron James is 43,777. The numbers feel somewhat fitting. The first two digits represent the age we expect him to be when he retires at the end of the 2026-27 season.

How did LeBron James just become the first NBA player to score more than 40,000 points in his career? Three words: Consistency: James has averaged 27 points per game for his career. He's never averaged less than 25 points per season since his rookie year.

The N.B.A. introduced the 3-pointer in the 1979-80 season, halfway through Abdul-Jabbar's career. For the next decade, the shot was considered a novelty, a “break glass in case of emergency” kind of heave. Abdul-Jabbar hit just one 3-pointer in his career.

LeBron James extended his all-time scoring record on Saturday by becoming the first NBA player to reach 40,000 regular-season points.

Bryant was the youngest before that to reach that mark, scoring his 20,000th career point when he was 29 years, 122 days old. James was 28 years, 17 days when he accomplished the feat.

LeBron James has 554 games played with 30+ points.

How many points did Kobe score in his career? ›

Kobe Bryant is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time. He sits third on the list of NBA all-time scoring leaders, having amassed 33,643 points across his 20-season career.

Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain are the only two NBA players to score 3,000 points in a season: Wilt Chamberlain: 4,029 (1961–62) Wilt Chamberlain: 3,586 (1962–63) Michael Jordan: 3,041 (1986–87)

If you look at certain numbers, Jordan may have a slight edge. He's won slightly more championships, more MVPs and more All-Defensive Team honors. On the other hand, James has scored more points than Jordan—or anybody else who ever played in the NBA.

Take a look back at LBJs career-high 61-point performance vs the Bobcats on March 3, 2014, with some sound over the years on him being in the zone that night.

With 27 games left of his 20th NBA season, James now has 38,390 career regular-season points, ahead of Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387. The record is as much about longevity as it is a show of dominance.

LeBron James passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record. Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the No. 1 spot on the NBA's all-time regular-season scoring list (38,387 points) on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.

The second chart is a progressive list of the leading all-time NBA scorers. LeBron James is the leading scorer in NBA history. LeBron James has scored the most career regular season points in NBA history.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James looks toward fans after scoring during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. Basketball star LeBron James became the first NBA player to reach 40,000 career regular-season points on Saturday.