A Tribute to the Greatest Scorer Ever
LeBron James is a lot of things. He is a 4-time NBA champion, a Finals MVP in each one, and once reached 8 straight NBA Finals. He is an incredible father to two sons (Bronny and Bryce) and one daughter (Zhuri). He has unheard-of longevity and has been a pinnacle of sports for the last two decades. His “I Promise” foundation has supported thousands of children across Akron—his hometown. He is a 4-time MVP, a rookie of the year, an 18x all-star and All-NBA player, and has made 6 all-defensive teams. He has been a consistent public advocate for social and racial justice.
Unless you aren’t a sports fan or have been living under a rock this year, you would know that James recently broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s prestigious scoring record of 38,387 points—a record that had been held for 38 years. It’s worth knowing that James broke the record at age 38, adding some numerical symmetry to the equation. Many even believe that becoming the greatest scorer ever will lift James to the summit of the GOAT conversation. Me? I think we need to pump the breaks. Because while James is a generational athlete, and may someday cement himself as the best to ever touch the hardwood, when we talk about the greatest scorer in the history of basketball, Kareem stands alone.
One of the most glaring differences between Kareem and LeBron—besides Kareem’s highlights being in black and white—is their offensive mentality. Time and time again, LeBron has preached that he is a “pass-first guy.” I would debate that, as LeBron just passed Steve Nash to advance to 4th on the all-time assists list. I would argue that this makes LeBron a better player than Kareem. But not the better scorer. Kareem possessed a killer instinct that few players have ever had, including LeBron. His takeover ability is matched by few—one of the reasons that he has the most MVPs of all time (5).
Another thing about Kareem is that he built his pedigree as a scorer long before his days in the NBA. He had over 2,000 points and 2,000 rebounds in three years of high school basketball, including 3 championships. He also famously single-handedly led his middle school team past the Power Memorial basketball team. College-wise, at UCLA, Kareem posted 26.4 PPG on 64.3% shooting, including 29.0 PPG in his freshman year under John Wooden’s pass-first, team basketball regime. He is widely considered to have had the best combined high school and college career. This should take nothing away from James’ comparable performance in his early basketball life. He averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in high school, including a spectacle of a game on national TV against the number one high school team in the country at the time—Oak Hill.
Something else that LeBron has going for him is the volume argument. People always talk about the absurdity of his longevity. And they aren’t wrong. Ever heard of someone averaging 30 PPG in their 20th season? Yeah, me neither. But LeBron also has an extra season on Kareem. And, he’s got more minutes. Throughout King James’ accomplished career, has averaged 38.1 minutes per game. Kareem averaged 36.3. The two greats have played an average of 1,485.5 games in their careers. Multiply that number by 1.8 (the difference between LeBron’s MPG and Kareem’s MPG), and you get 2,674 extra minutes that LeBron has had to chip away at the scoring record. For perspective, that’s 70.2 extra games when you divide 2,674 minutes by LeBron’s career MPG. Coincidentally, this number is roughly the same as LeBron’s average number of games played per season (70.6), so, using the math, we can see that LeBron has had essentially two more seasons to do his work than Kareem.
Finally, we can’t forget that Kareem still boasts the most unstoppable shot in basketball to this day. The legendary skyhook was beyond efficient, accounted for thousands of Kareem’s points, and was simply unguardable. Kareem', who was a 7-footer to begin with, could elevate about a foot off the ground on the shot, and extend his arm two more, towering over defenders, and putting him right at rim level. The skyhook will always be replicated by little kids across the world. LeBron’s got plenty of memorable shots, and even some signature plays. The sidestep three from the left-wing, ferocious dunks off of lobs in Miami, and his against-the-glass blocks all come to mind. But you can’t pinpoint one shot that LeBron goes to when in need of a bucket like you can for Kareem. If the former all-time leading scorer was ever up against it, he always had his skyhook—the most invincible shot ever.
We cannot push Kareem Abdul-Jabbar aside as LeBron James continues to ascend upwards in basketball royalty. He is still one of the best ever, and despite being dethroned last week in the all-time scoring race, we must not forget that he had a scoring mentality, high school and college success, more scoring in less time, and the signature skyhook, all of which put him at 38,387 in the first place.
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