TITLE: Harden Calls LeBron James’ All-Time Scoring Mark “Untouchable”
SLUG: harden-says-lebron-all-time-scoring-record-untouchable
CONTENT:
Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden dismissed any chance of surpassing LeBron James on the NBA’s career scoring list after the Clippers’ recent win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
James became the league’s all-time scoring leader in February 2023 when he moved past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 points. As of Dec. 22, 2025, the 41-year-old forward owns 42,406 career points—a margin of 4,019 over the next closest player.
Harden, who recently overtook Carmelo Anthony for 10th place on the list, was asked whether he envisions closing the gap. “Don’t even say LeBron in this conversation,” Harden joked, according to Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “Nobody’s ever catching that.”
The 36-year-old Clippers star has 28,359 career points across 17 seasons. To match James’ current total, Harden would need to average his present 25.8 points per game for another 544 regular-season contests—more than six and a half full 82-game seasons—without accounting for any additional points James will score.
Even younger elite scorers face a steep climb. Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić, James’ 26-year-old teammate in this hypothetical comparison, has 13,594 points through eight seasons at a 28.9-point career average. Matching James would require maintaining that pace for over 12 more 82-game campaigns.
Meanwhile, James is slated to appear in his 20th Christmas Day matchup when the Lakers meet the Houston Rockets, underscoring his longevity on one of the NBA’s marquee regular-season stages.
Source: Lakers Nation
