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LeBron James' scoring record: How the NBA's all-time points leader got here

Ben Rohrbach
Senior NBA writer
·10 min read
55

For the first time in four decades, the NBA has a new name atop its list of all-time leading scorers, as LeBron James eclipsed the previous standard of 38,387 career points set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

It is impossible to put into perspective the pantheon-level combination of skill and longevity required to score that many points in a career, but we'll try with a deep dive into the numbers behind the record.

[Trivia Question 1 (answers at the end of story): In the surname game, James has played with two Anthonys, two Davises, two Greens, two Hamiltons, two Howards, two Ingrams, two Johnsons, two Smiths, two Thomases, two Wagners, three Harrises, three Jacksons, six Browns, seven Joneses and seven Williamses. How many can you name?]

Tale of the tape: LeBron vs. Kareem

  • Points: LeBron 38,390 • Kareem 38,387

  • Seasons: LeBron 20 • Kareem 20

  • Age (at time of record): LeBron 38 years, 39 days • Kareem 42 years, 7 days

  • Games: LeBron 1,410 • Kareem 1,560

  • Minutes played: LeBron 53,741 • Kareem 57,446

  • FGA-FGM (FG%): LeBron 14,053-27,829 (50.5%) • Kareem 15,837-28.307 (55.9%)

  • 3PA-3PM: LeBron 2,237-6,494 (34.4%) • Kareem 1-18 (5.6%)

  • FTA-FTM: LeBron 8,047-10,949 (73.5%) • Kareem 6,712-9,304 (72.1%)

NBA scoring kings

Joe Fulks led the NBA in scoring in the league's first two seasons and held the career points record until the second game of the 1952-53 season, when George Mikan eclipsed his total of 7,024 on Nov. 2, 1952.

  • George Mikan's reign: 1,816 days (Nov. 2, 1952, to Oct. 22, 1957)

  • Ed Macauley's reign: 41 days (Oct. 22, 1957, to Dec. 1, 1957)

  • Dolph Schayes' reign: 2,261 days (Dec. 1, 1957, to Feb. 8, 1964)

  • Bob Pettit's reign: 738 days (Feb. 8, 1964, to Feb. 14, 1966)

  • Wilt Chamberlain's reign: 6,626 days (Feb. 14, 1966, to April 5, 1984)

  • Abdul-Jabbar's reign: 14,188 days (April 5, 1984, to Feb. 7, 2023)

LeBron's NBA debut

On Oct. 29, 2003, three minutes into his NBA career, James received a pass from Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Ricky Davis in the right corner, drove baseline to evade Sacramento Kings guard Mike Bibby and pulled up for his first shot attempt — a successful, 16-foot jump shot over two-time All-Star center Brad Miller.

  • Final score: Sacramento Kings 106, Cleveland Cavaliers 92

  • LeBron James: 25 PTS (12-20 FG, 0-2 3P, 1-3 FT), 9 AST, 6 REB, 4 STL

  • Days since: 7,041 (19 years, 3 months, 9 days)

  • No. 1 movie in the box office: "Scary Movie 3"

  • No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100: "Baby Boy" by Beyoncé, featuring Sean Paul

[Trivia Question 2: Can you name the one NBA player who was born after LeBron's career debut?]

LeBron's NBA milestones

James, the NBA's No. 1 overall pick out of high school in 2003, might not be the fastest player to reach every scoring milestone in his career, but he has been the youngest to reach every major benchmark, including ...

10,000 points: LeBron James (Feb. 27, 2008: 23 years, 59 days; 368 games)

  • Next-youngest to 10K: Kevin Durant (Nov. 1, 2012: 24 years, 33 days; 381 games)

  • Third-youngest to 10K: Kobe Bryant (March 5, 2003: 24 years, 194 days; 473 games)

  • Fastest to 10K: Wilt Chamberlain (Oct. 30, 1962: 26 years, 70 days; 236 games)

  • Second-fastest to 10K: Michael Jordan (Jan. 25, 1989: 25 years, 343 days; 303 games)

  • Abdul-Jabbar (March 25, 1973: 25 years, 343 days; 319 games)

20,000 points: LeBron James (Jan. 16, 2013: 28 years, 17 days; 726 games)

  • Next-youngest to 20K: Durant (Jan. 10, 2018: 29 years, 103 days)

  • Third-youngest to 20K: Bryant (Dec. 23, 2007: 29 years, 122 days; 811 games)

  • Fastest to 20K: Chamberlain (Jan. 2, 1966: 29 years, 134 days; 499 games)

  • Second-fastest to 20K: Jordan (Jan. 8, 1993: 29 years, 326 days; 620 games)

  • Abdul-Jabbar (March 24, 1978: 30 years, 342 days; 684 games)

30,000 points: LeBron James (Jan. 23, 2018: 33 years, 24 days; 1,107 games)

  • Next-youngest to 30K: Bryant (Dec. 5, 2012: 34 years, 104 days; 1,179 games)

  • Third-youngest and fastest to 30K: Chamberlain (Feb. 16, 1972: 35 years, 179 days; 941 games)

  • Second-fastest to 30K: Jordan (Jan. 4, 2002: 38 years, 321 days; 960 games)

  • Abdul-Jabbar (Nov. 19, 1983: 36 years, 217 days; 1,101 games)

James last scored in single digits for a game on Jan. 5, 2007, when he scored eight points in a victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. On March 30, 2018, he broke Jordan's previous record of 866 consecutive games with 10 or more points, and James has since extended that streak to 1,139 games and counting.

In his career, James has also logged (non-consecutively):

  • 20-point games: 1,173 (NBA record)

  • 30-point games: 531 (second to Jordan's 562)

  • 40-point games: 74 (eighth behind Chamberlain's 271)

  • 50-point games: 14 (seventh behind Chamberlain's 118)

  • 60-point games: 1 (seventh behind Chamberlain's 32)

LeBron's personal in-game scoring records

  • Most points in a quarter: 25 (twice, on March 3 and 18, 2014)

  • Most points in a half: 37 (on March 3, 2014)

  • Most points in a game: 61 (on March 3, 2014)

[Trivia Question 3: James played with 11 teammates on two different franchises. How many can you name?]

LeBron's team-by-team breakdown

James' points with the ...

  • Cleveland Cavaliers: 23,119 (2003-10, 2014-18; 849 games)

  • Miami Heat: 7,919 (2010-14; 294 games)

  • Los Angeles Lakers: 7,352 ... and counting (2018-current; 267 games)

James' points against the ...

LeBron's career scoring zones

  • Points from beyond midcourt: 6

  • Points from the right 3-point corner: 465

  • Points from the left 3-point corner: 474

  • Points in the paint (non-restricted area): 2,386

  • Points from above the 3-point break: 5,748

  • Points from the midrange: 5,838

  • Points from 3-point range: 6,699

  • Points from the free-throw line: 8,039

  • Points in the restricted area: 15,392

That's right. Kyrie Irving, for example, has fewer career points (15,173) than James has points at the rim.

[Trivia Question 4: LeBron's career spanned those of nine father-son duos. Can you name them?]

LeBron's help along the way

  • Points unassisted: 18,789

  • Points assisted: 11,524

James has had 213 teammates in his NBA career, and Rui Hachimura recently became the 148th of them to register at least one assist to the league's career scoring champion. The leaderboard for assists to James:

  • 361: Dwyane Wade (294 games)

  • 292: Eric Snow (267 games)

  • 271: Mario Chalmers (284 games)

  • 228: Mo Williams (191 games)

  • 225: Kevin Love (271 games)

  • 209: Kyrie Irving 200 games)

  • 183: Jeff McInnis (107 games)

  • 180: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (589 games)

  • 168: Russell Westbrook (129 games)

  • 128: Delonte West (150 games)

  • 120: Chris Bosh (287 games)

  • 119: Larry Hughes (146 games)

  • 112: J.R. Smith (250 games)

  • 111: Anthony Davis (168 games)

  • 102: Matthew Dellavedova (143 games)
    Drew Gooden (292 games)

  • 99: Norris Cole (227 games)

  • 97: Anderson Varejao (445 games)

  • 89: Rajon Rondo (112 games)

  • 81: Damon Jones (209 games)

  • 77: Dennis Schroder (101 games)

  • 69: Daniel Gibson (249 games)

  • 60: Sasha Pavlovic (302 games)

  • 55: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (218 games)

  • 48: Ray Allen (152 games)
    Ira Newble (230 games)

  • 46: Kyle Kuzma (199 games)

  • 45: Anthony Parker (81 games)

  • 44: Talen Horton-Tucker (131 games)

  • 43: Malik Monk (76 games)

  • 41: Alex Caruso (147 games)

  • 40: Lonzo Ball (47 games)
    Devin Brown (78 games)

  • 39: Carlos Boozer (75 games)

  • 38: Shane Battier (210 games)
    Kevin Ollie (82 games)
    Austin Reaves (97 games)

  • 36: Mike Miller (191 games)

  • 34: Tristan Thompson (295 games)

  • 33: Donyell Marshall (173 games)

  • 29: Deron Williams (24 games)

  • 28: Jose Calderon (57 games)

  • 26: Carlos Arroyo (49 games)
    Marc Gasol (52 games)
    George Hill (24 games)

  • 25: Iman Shumpert (182 games)

  • 23: Udonis Haslem (198 games)

  • 22: Patrick Beverley (44 games)
    Richard Jefferson (153 games)

  • 21: Danny Green (88 games)
    Timofey Mozgov (122 games)
    Wally Szczerbiak (99 games)
    Eric Williams (50 games)

  • 22: Kyle Korver (108 games)
    Shaquille O'Neal (53 games)

  • 19: Avery Bradley (111 games)
    Jae Crowder (53 games)
    Ricky Davis (22 games)
    Jeff Green (78 games)
    Brandon Ingram (52 games)
    Darius Miles (37 games)

  • 18: Dwight Howard (129 games)

  • 17: Ben Wallace (78 games)

  • 16: Flip Murray (28 games)

  • 15: Toney Douglas (27 games)

  • 14: Desagana Diop (95 games)
    J.J. Hickson (143 games)
    Stanley Johnson (48 games)
    Rashard Lewis (115 games)
    Isaiah Thomas (19 games)
    Robert Traylor (74 games)

  • 13: Channing Frye (144 games)

  • 12: Mike Bibby (22 games)
    Lance Stephenson (68 games)
    Dion Waiters (40 games)
    Lonnie Walker IV (34 games)

  • 11: Thomas Bryant (35 games)
    Josh Hart (67 games)
    James Jones (213 games)

  • 10: Joel Anthony (213 games)
    Montrezl Harrell (69 games)
    Shawn Marion (57 games)
    Cedi Osman (61 games)

  • 9: Troy Brown Jr. (46 games)
    DeAndre Liggins (62 games)
    Markieff Morris (75 games)

  • 8: Tony Battie (50 games)
    Wayne Ellington (43 games)
    Lucious Harris (73 games)
    Rodney Hood (21 games)
    JaVale McGee (143 games)
    Joe Smith (48 games)

  • 7: J.R. Bremer (31 games)
    Jordan Clarkson (28 games)
    Mateen Cleaves (4 games)
    Juwan Howard (92 games)
    Antawn Jamison (25 games)
    Jerry Stackhouse (7 games)
    Dajuan Wagner (55 games)

  • 6: Chris Andersen (126 games)
    Carmelo Anthony (69 games)
    D.J. Augustin (21 games)
    Erick Dampier (51 games)
    Wenyen Gabriel (59 games)

  • 5: Michael Beasley (81 games)
    Kedrick Brown (34 games)
    Quinn Cook (60 games)
    Luke Jackson (46 games)
    DeAndre Jordan (32 games)
    Roger Mason (25 games)
    Wesley Matthews (58 games)
    Jordan McRae (52 games)
    Jamario Moon: (61 games)
    Lee Nailon (22 games)
    Derrick Rose (16 games)
    David Wesley (35 games)

  • 4: Trevor Ariza (24 games)
    Reggie Bullock (19 games)
    Terrel Harris (29 games)
    Larry Nance Jr. (24 games)

  • 3: Tyson Chandler (48 games)
    Mike Dunleavy (23 games)
    Alan Henderson (51 games)
    Dwayne Jones (60 games)
    Kendrick Nunn (39 games)
    Mike Wilks (37 games)
    Jawad Williams (64 games)

  • 2: Jared Cunningham (40 games)
    Troy Daniels (41 games)
    Kay Felder (42 games)
    Rui Hachimura (4 games)
    Chris Mihm (22 games)
    Dexter Pittman (41 games)
    Juan Toscano-Anderson (30 games)
    Mo Wagner (43 games)
    Jiri Welsch (16 games)

  • 1: Darren Collison (3 games)
    Jared Dudley (57 games)
    Stephen Graham (13 games)
    Joe Harris (56 games)
    John Holland (24 games)
    Jason Kapono (41 games)
    Tarence Kinsey (50 games)
    Kendrick Perkins (18 games)
    Matt Ryan (12 games)
    Derrick Williams (25 games)
    Johnathan Williams (24 games)
    Lorenzen Wright (17 games)

Trivia Answer 1:

  • Anthony: Carmelo, Joel

  • Davis: Anthony, Ricky

  • Hamilton: Justin, Zendon

  • Howard: Dwight, Juwan

  • Ingram: Andre, Brandon

  • Johnson: Stanley, Trey

  • Smith: Joe, J.R.

  • Thomas: Billy, Isaiah

  • Wagner: Dejuan, Mo

  • Harris: Joe, Lucious, Terrel

  • Jackson: Cedric, Darnell, Luke

  • Brown: Chaundee, Devin, Kedrick, Shannon, Sterling, Troy

  • Jones: Damion, Damon, Dahntay, Dwayne, James, Jemerrio, Mason

  • Williams: Deron, Derrick, Eric, Jawad, Jonathan, Mo, Scott

Trivia Answer 2: Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons (born Nov. 18, 2003)

Trivia Answer 3: Chris Andersen (MIA, CLE); Michael Beasley (MIA, LAL); Danny Green (CLE, LAL); Zydrunas Ilgauskas (CLE, MIA); James Jones (MIA, CLE); DeAndre Liggins (MIA, CLE); Mike Miller (MIA, CLE); J.R. Smith (CLE, LAL); Isaiah Thomas (CLE, LAL); Dwyane Wade (MIA, CLE); Dion Waiters (CLE, LAL).

Trivia Answer 4: Jalen Brunson and Rick Brunson; Adrian Griffin and A.J. Griffin; Kenyon Martin and Kenyon Martin Jr.; Gary Payton and Gary Payton II; Scottie Pippen and Scotty Pippen Jr.; Glen Rice and Glen Rice Jr.; Glenn Robinson and Glen Robinson III; Jabari Smith and Jabari Smith Jr.; Gary Trent and Gary Trent Jr.

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Ben Rohrbach is a senior NBA writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach