On May 20, Lebron James became the number two all-time scorer in NBA history and is already projected to pass six-time MVP, six-time NBA finals champion, and former Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar early next year. 

   James passed two-time league MVP Karl Malone who had 36,928 total career points, to become the second-highest scorer. James has officially begun his twentieth year in the NBA, 

and has racked up a total of 37,144 points since his start with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. 

   He is just 1,244 points short of the top-scoring spot in the NBA, and ESPN has projected James to pass Abdul-Jabbar in Jan. 2023. According to ESPN, James’ career average of points per game thus far is 27.1, which is just three points less than NBA legend Michael Jordan, who is in the top spot for all-time average points per game. 

   The top ten all-time scorers list is stacked full of some of the greatest players to ever grace the league, such as Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Carmelo Anthony, and Shaquille O’Neal. 

   “Abdul-Jabbar has been atop the career points list since April 5, 1984 — eight months before James was even born — when he broke the mark previously held by Wilt Chamberlain,” according to ESPN.

   Chamberlain, an original Laker legend, is most notable for his NBA record of 100 points in a single game, and behind him is Kobe Bryant with 81 points.

   Despite the fact that Kareem’s long-held record is predicted to be in the hands of James by the end of the regular season, Abdul-Jabbar will still remain no. 2 on the list, and still has an impressive resume from his 20 years in the NBA. 

   According to ESPN, “If LeBron breaks the record, and it looks like he has every reason to break it, I’ll be very happy for him. The game will always improve when records like that are broken,” Abdul-Jabbar said. 

  Although Kareem is bound to be passed as the league’s top scorer, he will hardly be forgotten as one of the greatest NBA players of all time. As for James, if he stays on the predicted trajectory of scoring and does not continue to miss games like last season, it should not be long before he is in the top spot.