Abdul-Jabbar was on hand to watch James break his record
The NBA has a new all-time scoring leader, as LeBron James passed fellow Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to secure the record Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James broke the record with a turnaround jumper, breaking the record that Abdul-Jabbar has held for nearly 39 years. James’ 36th point on the night, which he needed to surpass the record, happened with just 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The officials at Crypto.com Arena stopped the game and allowed James’ family to greet him at mid-court to soak in the moment.
Abdul-Jabbar, who broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record on April 5, 1984, was in attendance to witness the historic event. Jay-Z, Shannon Sharpe, Dwyane Wade, Floyd Mayweather, Bad Bunny and Denzel Washington were all on hand as well.
As only he could, James made it fairly obvious that he was gunning for the record on Tuesday, rocking a pair of custom headphones that read “38388.”
If that wasn’t enough, he asked his two sons, Bronny and Brice, whether or not he should attempt to break the record. Their answer was obvious.
The odds for James to break the record continued to lower as the 19-time All-Star closed in, falling from +200000 at FanDuel Sportsbook ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans game, to just +200 entering Tuesday.