LEBRON JAMES added another historic milestone to his legendary career by becoming the NBA’s all-time leader in field goals. The achievement came during the Los Angeles Lakers 120–113 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
James scored 16 points in the game and surpassed the previous record of 15,837 field goals set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The milestone came early in the first quarter.
At 41 years old, James continues to dominate in his historic 23rd NBA season. He already became the league’s all-time leading scorer in February 2023 when he broke Abdul-Jabbar’s long-standing points record.
Last year, James also became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 combined points across the regular season and playoffs. He currently holds 43,127 points in regular-season play alone.
James said the recognition alongside basketball legends means a lot to him.
“Being mentioned with some of the greatest to ever play this game has always been humbling,” James said.
He added that he grew up watching and admiring many of the sport’s greatest players. His goal was always to reach a level where he could be mentioned among them.
“It’s a pretty cool feat,” he said. “But it’s still hard for me to fully wrap my head around it.”
Lakers head coach JJ Redick compared James’ career longevity to legendary musician Bruce Springsteen, saying the NBA star keeps adding to an already remarkable list of achievements.
Redick said James’ “greatest hits catalogue” continues to grow because he keeps performing at an elite level year after year.
Abdul-Jabbar broke the scoring record later in his career partly because the NBA introduced the three-point line midway through his playing days. The six-time champion spent most of his 20-year career with the Lakers and retired in 1989 with a 55.9% field-goal percentage from 28,307 shots.
James currently holds a 51.6% field-goal rate.
The four-time NBA champion is also approaching another historic mark. Thursday’s game was his 1,606th regular-season appearance. That puts him just five games behind Robert Parish for the most games played in NBA history.
Earlier this year, James earned his 22nd NBA All-Star selection. However, he has not yet decided whether he will continue playing next season.
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray each scored 28 points for Denver, helping the Nuggets remain fifth in the Western Conference standings, just ahead of the Lakers.
In another game, the San Antonio Spurs continued their impressive run with a 121-106 win over the Detroit Pistons. Rising star Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 38 points and 16 rebounds, marking their 13th victory in the last 14 games.
