LeBron James entered the NBA in 2003 with a game, by his own admission, far more Magic than Michael, among the many reasons the fadeaway jumper James made Feb. 7 to eclipse the all-time scoring record seemed so improbable. Scoring records were for scorers, like Jordan (whom James passed in 2019), Kobe Bryant (’20) and Karl Malone (’22). Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points once seemed an unbreakable record, like Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak or Wayne Gretzky’s 2,857 career points. It seemed especially unattainable for someone so dedicated to finding teammates. In a 20-year career, Abdul-Jabbar never averaged more than 5.4 assists in a season. In 20 full seasons, James has only once averaged fewer than six.
Where James and Abdul-Jabbar intersect is in durability. Kareem averaged 78 games a season and until his last two years never played fewer than 31 minutes per game. In his career, James has averaged 71 games—and never fewer than 33 minutes in any of them.
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