LeBron James moved up on the all-time scoring list in Thursday night's game against the Bulls. He passed Shaquille O'Neal and moved into the seventh spot on that list. This is a huge accomplishment for LeBron as he has scored over 28,000 points by age 32. Now that his sights are set on the top five, it's time to ask the big question. Will LeBron James be able to catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and take the top spot on the scoring list before he retires? It might be more feasible than many think. Let's take a look.
Points Galore
LeBron James is number seven on the scoring list, passing four players throughout the season.
His next target is Dirk Nowitzki, who leads LeBron by 1,582 points. Nowitzki is still active in the NBA, so he will keep adding to his lead on LeBron until he retires. But as he moves up, so will LeBron's as the rest of the players are retired and don't look like they are making a comeback anytime soon. Through 14 seasons, LeBron James trails Kareem by 1,211 points, as Kareem had 29,810 compared to LeBron's 28,599. But the catch is that Kareem was 35 in his fourteenth season while LeBron is 32. So LeBron has some years on him and is almost equal to him. LeBron is averaging 27 points for his career so he might be on the right track to catching Kareem. He will need to get to the 30,000 point club as the top five scorers in history all have more than that.
What needs to happen?
So how can The King get to that number one spot? Well, he would need to average 25 points per game a season and play at least 75 games per season. We know he can do that, but later in his career, he might need more than just the three games off per year due to rest. If LeBron can keep those averages, he should pass Kareem by the 2022-23 season.
That would be six seasons from now, and he would be age 38. LeBron's body is super human, as it was determined by doctors he has the body of a 19-year-old. But telling a 38-year-old to average 25 a game? That's a lot on his plate. But if any player can do it, LeBron can. LeBron has a good four or five season left of his prime years, so he needs to make these season count if he wants that scoring record.
LeBron is a player like no other, and he can score at will if he so desires. But LeBron values his teammate's success over his so him getting the record might a little challenging. He has some time to do it, as he is almost at the same spot, but three years behind Kareem in age. LeBron better starts warming up his jumper, as he will need to make a lot more shots to get in range of Kareem's 38,387. He can start Friday night, as his team takes on the Sixers.
