Can Anyone Outscore the King?

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As of this writing, Lebron James is 157 points away from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long-standing record of 38.387 points and becoming the all-time regular season scoring leader. At the age of 38, LeBron has shown no signs of slowing down, and could easily reach 40,000 regular season points before the end of his career. With such a long and historic career, LeBron is weeks away from passing every legend in terms of scoring, but once he retires, will anyone be able to pass the King himself?

Today, there are only a handful of active players in the top 50 all-time scoring leaders. The closest player to LeBron on the leaderboard is Carmelo Anthony, 9th with 28,289 points. While he is currently not on an NBA roster, Melo has not announced his retirement and has been staying ready for another run in the league. Having played 19 seasons in the league and being the same age as Lebron, Carmelo will come close to breaking James’ eventual scoring record. The next closest active player is Kevin Durant, who is 14th all-time with 26,684 points. Currently sitting out with an injury, Durant is expected to return in the coming weeks. Already in his 15th season, Durant may only be around for another few years. Averaging around 1,778 points per season, KD would only finish with around 35,600 points, several thousand shy of the second all-time spot if he played another five seasons at the same level.

The only remaining players in the top 50 are James Harden and Russell Westbrook (both sitting at around 24,000 points) and Chris Paul, DeMar DeRozan, and Steph Curry (all sitting at around 21,000 points). With those players having played around 14 seasons, it’s unlikely that any of those players could reach LeBron’s eventual scoring record. LeBron has one key advantage over almost every player in the league: he did not go to college. Entering the league at 18, LeBron has a few extra seasons of play compared to most of the players in the top 10.

While aren’t many veterans in the league that could even come close to LeBron’s scoring feat, are there any young players that might have a chance at one day surpassing LeBron’s eventual all-time points scored? One player to keep an eye on would be Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic. Luka has been one of the best players in the league since being drafted in 2018. As of this writing, Luka has scored 8,447 points and is currently one of the leaders for the 2022-23 scoring champion. Currently averaging over 33.0 PPG, Luka is on pace to finish this season scoring over 2,500 points. If Luka could play at a similar level for an extended period of time, Luka may be one of the few players who would come closer to LeBron’s eventual record and the 40,000-point mark.

Until then, Kareem’s record of 38.387 points is only a handful of games from being broken. Already known as one of the greatest players of all time, the all-time regular season leading scorer is just another accolade that LeBron James can add to his already historic career. It may be a long time before LeBron’s eventual record is surpassed, or it may not ever be surpassed. One thing is clear though, LeBron James will go down as one of the game’s best scorers when he calls it a career.