LeBron James scored his 38,388th career point Tuesday evening, becoming the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. James surpassed fellow Los Angeles Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had held the record since April 1984.
James went into Tuesday evening’s match-up against the Oklahoma City Thunder with 36 points left to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s record 38,387 points. He broke the record with roughly 10 seconds left in the third quarter, scoring two points off of a step-back fallaway jumper.
The game was immediately halted for a ceremony to commemorate the historical moment. Abdul-Jabbar, who watched the game from a baseline seat, took the floor to congratulate James, who was joined by his mother, wife and three children.
In a speech during the pause, James addressed the crowd, hailing the ferocious crowd of Lakers fans for their support and offering thanks to his family, former NBA commissioner David Stern and Abdul-Jabbar.
“I just want to say thank you because I wouldn’t be me without y’all,” James said, before voicing some profanity on TNT. “Fuck man. Thank you guys.”
Abdul-Jabbar was far from the only celebrity in attendance for the game. Denzel Washington, Jay-Z, Bad Bunny, LL Cool J, Usher, Andy Garcia and Dwyane Wade and many others turned out, ready to witness history be made.
More to come…
