Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is on track to make history this season.
Barring something unexpected, the 37-year-old is going to pass Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
However, breaking the record doesn’t seem to be James’ top priority this season. In fact, during a recent conversation with a fan, the veteran said he’d cry over another NBA championship, but not over becoming the scoring king.
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Whether James gets emotional when he breaks the record or not, it’s certainly going to be a special moment.
As things stand now, just 828 points separate James and Abdul-Jabbar. James is sitting at 37,559 points, and Abdul-Jabbar finished his legendary career with 38,387.
The Lakers superstar is averaging 26.2 points per game this season. If he were to maintain that average over his next 32 games, that’s around when he’d break the record.
Lakers fans are probably happy to hear that James’ focus is on winning another NBA title. Los Angeles has been playing with new life lately, overcoming a 2-10 start to get back in the postseason conversation at 11-15.
L.A. still has work to do to prove that it needs to be taken seriously this season, but things are trending in the right direction.
A world exists in which James breaks the scoring title this season and also leads the Lakers to the championship. If both those things were to happen, the superstar’s 20th season in the NBA would go down as arguably his most iconic of all.
For now, James and the Lakers are focused on their upcoming matchup against the Boston Celtics, who look like perhaps the best team in basketball this season.
The two storied franchises will battle on Tuesday in Los Angeles, marking their first matchup of the 2022-23 campaign. If the Lakers want to prove to the NBA world that they’re for real this season, a win over the 21-6 Celtics would be a really good place to start.
The Lakers will also host the Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards later this week following the Celtics game.
