LeBron James is officially within reach of one of the most hallowed records in the NBA.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar notched 27 points in a 131-126 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, moving him within 36 points of breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time NBA record .
The performance sets up a pair of highly anticipated games at Crypto.com Arena next week, and some of the most expensive ticket prices in the arena. With James likely needing one or two more games to make history, the Lakers are scheduled to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday and the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday at home. That’s assuming James doesn’t miss any moments through injury or another season.
Whatever game James breaks the record, Abdul-Jabbar plans to be there.
LeBron James could break the goalscoring record in his next game
Even at 38, James is scoring at a rate that wouldn’t seem out of place compared to some of the best seasons of his career. His 30.0-point average over 43 games would be the third-highest scoring rate in his 20 NBA seasons.
James averaged 20.9 points per game as a rookie and hasn’t dropped below that rate since. He’s on track to break Abdul-Jabbar’s record of more than 100 fewer games played than his fellow Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar reached his total of 38,387 points in 1,560 games; the Lakers game against the Pelicans was the 1,409th of James’ career.
This season pace allows James to pass Abdul-Jabbar against the Bucks on Thursday, but he’s certainly capable of scoring enough points to break the record against the Thunder on Tuesday. James has scored 36 or more points nine times this season, including six last month.
Here’s the list of the Lakers’ upcoming games as James pursues one of the last big steps in his basketball career:
Tuesday: vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 10:30 p.m. ET
THURSDAY: vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 10 p.m. ET (TNT)
February 11th : at Golden State Warriors, 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
February 13: at Portland Trail Blazers, 10 p.m. ET
February 15: vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)
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