LeBron James passes Karl Malone for No. 2 on NBA scoring list
LeBron James added another milestone to his incredible NBA résumé on Saturday night.
Midway through the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' matchup with the Washington Wizards, James cut to the basket and made an uncontested layup, passing Karl Malone to become the NBA's all-time second-leading scorer.
James entered the night needing 20 points to pass "The Mailman," who finished his Hall of Fame NBA career with 36,928 points.
Now, James can officially set his sights on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who holds the record with 38,387 career points.
James, at 36,947 points, is 1,440 points behind Abdul-Jabbar.
In an interview with The Athletic during February's NBA All-Star break, James confirmed that he would like his last year to be played with his son Bronny, who is currently a junior at Sierra Canyon High School. Bronny James is 17 years old and will be draft-eligible in two more years under the current "one and done" rule, meaning James appears to be committed to playing at least a few more seasons.
James has already topped the 1,500-point mark this season, and has hit that mark in all but one of his 19 seasons in the NBA. He would pass Abdul-Jabbar in his 20th season if he manages to repeat this year's point total.
King James finished Saturday's game with 38 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, but the Wizards rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Lakers, 127-119.
Still, after the game, all of the chatter was about James' NBA-altering achievement.
"Just to be a part of this league for as many years as I've been a part of it, and be linked with some of the greatest to ever play this game — guys that I either watched or studied or read about or aspired to be like — I'm honestly just lost for words for it," James said. "It's an honor for myself, my hometown, my family and my friends to be able to live these moments throughout this journey."
When asked if he'll have passing Abdul-Jabbar in the back of his mind when he takes the floor moving forward, James essentially said that if it happens, it happens.
"I will not allow myself to think about it. I've always just played the game the way I've been playing it over the years and these things have just happened organically, by just going out and playing the game the right way. … I hope to accomplish that at some point in my career, but I won't think about it too much."
If history is any indication, James making history will happen once again.
Here's how the NBA world reacted to James' latest milestone:
