LeBron James Within Striking Distance of Scoring Record

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is approaching his date with history. With 36 points in tonight's home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 19-time All Star could pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

Soon.

King Countdown pic.twitter.com/OBkV6GTpZX
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 7, 2023

36 points would be a big game for James, but it wouldn't be totally out of the realm of possibility. He's averaging 30.0 points per game this season, and the Thunder are allowing the 20th most points in the NBA. James has topped 36 points nine times in the 2022-23 season.

When James eventually (and inevitably) sets the scoring record, it will likely stand for a very long time. He appears nowhere near the end of his career, and he has more than 10000 points over any other active player. Given James' incredible durability and dominance from an early age (20.9 points per game as a 19-year-old rookie), it's difficult to imagine a player ever approaching whatever mark the four-time MVP ends up with. It will likely end up being the record most synonymous with his greatness.

If James doesn't get it done tonight, he'll have another chance to make history in front of his home crowd on Thursday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.