DENVER — LeBron James added another line to his historic résumé on Thursday night, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most made field goals in NBA history.
The Los Angeles Lakers forward hit a turnaround baseline jumper over Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji with 12.3 seconds left in the first quarter, logging his third basket of the game and the 15,838th of his career. The shot pushed him one field goal ahead of Abdul-Jabbar during the Lakers’ 120-113 loss at Ball Arena.
“Just to be able to link my name with some of the greatest to ever play this game has always been humbling,” James said afterward. He noted that the fadeaway jumper became a staple in his arsenal after the Miami Heat’s 2011 NBA Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks. “It’s one of my patented shots; it’s something I’ve worked on throughout my career.”
James, 41, already owns the league’s all-time scoring record, a mark he seized on Feb. 7, 2023, with a step-back jumper that gave him 38,388 points. His career total has since climbed past 43,000.
In Denver, James finished with 16 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field. Lakers head coach JJ Redick compared the star’s longevity to a musician’s evolving catalog. “LeBron’s greatest hits—he just keeps adding to them,” Redick said before tip-off.
Additional milestones in reach
• Earlier this season, James passed Michael Cooper for fifth place on the Lakers’ career assists list.
• He also joined Kobe Bryant as the only Lakers to record 1,000 made three-pointers.
• The next major benchmark is Robert Parish’s record of 1,611 regular-season appearances. James, second at 1,606, could surpass Parish on March 16 against the Houston Rockets if he plays in every game until then.
“I never set out to break this particular record,” James said of the field-goal mark. “I came into this league starting from scratch. For my name to be at the top is awesome.”
Source: ESPN
