The Sports World Reacts to LeBron James Breaking the NBA All-Time Scoring Record

Josh Rosenberg
·4 min read
nba basketball lakers vs thunder
LeBron James Becomes the All-Time Scoring LeaderWally Skalij - Getty Images


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When LeBron James walked onto the basketball court in Los Angeles for the pregame shoot-around Tuesday night, he donned custom headphones with the number 38,388 written across the headband. It was the number of career points he would have to reach to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record—and the same number that he would surpass that evening. The moment had been a long time coming. Many in attendance last night, including Abdul-Jabbar himself and James’s two sons, were ready to watch arguably the greatest basketball player of all time become ever greater.

It was a spectacle that many of us will most likely never see happen again in our lifetime. Abdul-Jabbar held the all-time scoring record in the NBA for over 39 years since his retirement, and it took LeBron James playing only 20 seasons in the league to break it. At 38 years old and showing no signs of stopping, it’s no telling how much higher James's number could climb by the time he eventually does say goodbye to basketball. “I would never in a million years dreamt this any better,” James told a roaring Lakers crowd. “Fuck man, thank you guys.”

Though the game would end in a close loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, James tallied 38 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals, and four three-pointers. But the Lakers, who have a disappointing 25-30 record this season so far, were celebrating something much greater. "LeBron's career is one of someone who planned to dominate this game," Abdul-Jabbar told TNT in a postgame interview. “It's gone for almost 20 years now. You have to give him credit for just the way he played and for the way he's lasted and dominated. He has that indefinable essence that they call leadership." When Abdul-Jabbar originally set the record in 1984, another nine months would have to pass before LeBron James was even born. “I didn't want to emulate nobody. I wanted to be myself,” James told ESPN, “And if you stay true to yourself, you'll always feel better about the outcome, win, lose or draw in life. But it's been great. I'm not going nowhere."

Below, check out some of the best reactions to LeBron James’s big night from other NBA legends and celebrities alike.

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