Records Broken in LA: LeBron James, New NBA All-Time Scorer

With a fadeaway jumper at the left elbow against the Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron James broke the all-time scoring record that had been untouched for 39 years. 

James entered Tuesday’s game with a career total of 38,352 points, needing 36 to overtake Abdul-Jabbar’s record. During the final seconds of the third quarter, Lebron sank the historic shot that made NBA history. 

He ran to the other side of the court, arms out wide, and took in the moment with tears in his eyes. Photographers swarmed James as chants of “MVP,” echoed throughout the stadium. The game stopped for about ten minutes as James was joined by family and friends. "Everything just stopped. It gave me an opportunity to embrace it and look around and seeing my family, the fans, my friends. It was pretty cool. I probably can count on my hands how many times I have cried in 20 years, either in happiness or in defeat. So that moment was one of them when I kind of teared up a little bit. It was 'I can't believe what's going on' tears." 

Previous record holder, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, later joined James. Prior to Tuesday's game, Abdul-Jabbar held the record at 38,387 total career points. He first broke the record in April of 1984 at 31,240 points, just about 7,000 points under his career total. Abdul-Jabbar retired five years later at the age of 42 from the LA Lakers, the same team James plays for. 

Before James beat the record, it was seen as impossible. A record untouched for nearly forty years is a record no NBA player could see as easily beatable. “It felt like I was sitting on top of the arena tonight,” James said at the postgame conference. "I thank you guys so much for allowing me to be a part of something I've always dreamed about.”