Photo By: Getty Images

By: Broderick Houston

LeBron James has done something many thought could never be done: break the record for points scored. This record has been held for almost four decades. The mantle has been officially passed from “The Captain” to “King James”.  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar previously held the record by scoring 38,387 points over his 20-year career in the NBA.

 James has been the face of the NBA for years as he’s in his 19th season. With the Lakers being the 13 seed in the western conference, his record-breaking accomplishment is obviously one of the only bright spots of their season so far.

Going into Tuesday night’s game, James only needed 35 points to tie Jabbar’s record and 36 points to break it. James scored the record-breaking basket during the third quarter with 10 seconds left in the quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The crowd erupted when he calmly hit a 2-point fadeaway to break the record.

The whole arena, including the opposing players, congratulated James as he waved to the crowd. As for the former record holder, Abdul-Jabbar has been an upstanding guy knowing that James was closing in on his record. 

 “Not only will I celebrate his accomplishment,” said Abdul-Jabbar. “I will sing his praises unequivocally”.  

James finished the game with 38 points, three assists, and seven rebounds. Eventually, the Lakers fell short to the Thunder with a final score of 133-130.

James is the only player in NBA history to be in the top five in both points scored and assists. He is the youngest player in NBA history to score 10k points, 20k points, and 30k points. 

With the Lakers outside of the play-in rankings, James has a chance to gradually raise the scoring records in hope of making the playoffs.

Copy Edited By: Marlon “MJ” Scott