On February 7, 2023, LeBron James made history against the Oklahoma City Thunder by breaking the NBA’s all time scoring record. With the clock winding down in the third quarter, LeBron took a swift fadeway jumper to eclipse 38,387 points, prompting a rare mid-game intermission with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and former scoring leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to recognize the moment. Everyone in the Los Angeles crowd was ecstatic and had been during each pre- ceding possession that James touched the ball, as the countdown to pass Kareem that many had been following for years reached a previously thought impossible culmi- nation. Even Thunder forward Kenrich Williams who was defending James had to “[look] at the positives,”and was just glad to be a part of history.

Indubitably, the new scoring record is monumental for the NBA and its commu- nity, but maybe even more so for LeBron’s legacy. Gaining the scoring record is one of LeBron’s most extraordinary basketball achievements, and the manner in which it was achieved is a testament to his remark- able longevity. In his 20th season at the age of 38, James has shown no signs of declining, and instead is dominating the league at an unprecedented level, even for his standards. Averaging 30 points a game, higher than his career average of 27, James not only surpassed the scoring record, but he will also continue to add to it if he chooses to continue playing until his contract expires in 2025. In comparison, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke the scoring record he was 37 years old, averaging just over 20 ppg and experiencing a clear but expected regression in physical ability from his 20s. Most importantly, it should be noted that James is not even considered a pure scorer, and instead a “pass first” player. He is currently fourth all time for assists, and additionally can be found in the top ten of nearly every major statistic.

While James’s newest accolade makes his case in the conversation for the great- est player of all time stronger than ever, he certainly is not satisfied, nor would it be easy to be content due to the recent struggles and inconsistencies of the Los Angeles Lakers. After the trade deadline, the Lakers have an entirely new starting lineup and roster, and James will look
to lead his team up from 13th to at least 10th over the last 23 games of the season, which he considers the“most important games” of his career, in order to have a chance at they playoffs.