LeBron James passes Karl Malone, now second on all-time scoring list

LeBron James can now officially set his sights on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

James surpassed Karl Malone on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on Saturday night at Capital One Arena. The Los Angeles Lakers star now sits less than 1,500 points from becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer.

James entered Saturday’s 127-119 loss to the Washington Wizards just 19 points shy of matching Malone’s mark of 36,928 points.

That didn’t take long for him, either.

James opened the game shooting 8-of-12 from the field and tied Malone midway through the second quarter. He then caught a pass from Stanley Johnson and easily dropped in a layup to pass Malone, which prompted a standing ovation from Wizards fans.

Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in his career, which is 1,459 points more than Malone did.

Though James is reaching the end of his career, the 37-year-old should be able to reach Abdul-Jabbar’s mark before he calls it quits. James had more than 1,500 points already this season entering Saturday’s game, and has hit that mark in all but one of his 19 seasons in the NBA.

Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain are the only other players who have scored more than 30,000 points in their careers. Carmelo Anthony is the closest active player to James on the all-time scoring list, though he sits in ninth with 28,205 points. Kevin Durant is next, but he sits at No. 23 with more than 25,000 points.

James finished Saturday with 38 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the loss to the Wizards. That brings him to 36,947 career points. He is just 1,440 points away from tying the all-time record.