LeBron James keeps moving up the NBA all-time scoring list. He could finish No. 1

LeBron James scored 44 points in the Lakers’ 126-117 over the Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. In doing so, he passed Wilt Chamberlain for No. 5 on the NBA’s all-time leading scorer’s list.

James recorded the historic basket with just under four minutes to go in the fourth quarter, driving by Jake Layman to knock down the floater plus the foul. He rounded the night out with 10 rebounds, nine assists and three blocks. It was James’ best game since signing a four-year deal in Los Angeles over the summer.

James has extended his prime longer than many playing careers last in an entirety. He’s kept his body in tip-top shape, dedicating seven figures to his health, well being and bodily upkeep annually. As a result, at age 33 — soon to be 34 — he hasn’t slowed down a beat.

“I’ve done something right in my career, and I give it all to the man above for giving me these God-given abilities,” he said while walking to the locker room. “And I’ve taken full advantage of it, so I give all the credit to my coaching staff, my teammates all through these 16 years. It’s all about hard work, man.”

James continues to find new ways to score, even though he entered the league as a playmaker and not a scorer. Now, he finds himself high up on the leaderboards. The only question left is how high can he go?

Can LeBron James catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

Let’s take a look at the NBA’s all-time leading scorer’s list, which features some of the best to ever play the game:

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 38,387 points (that’s a lot of buckets)
2. Karl Malone: 36,928 points (also a lot of buckets)
3. Kobe Bryant: 33,643 points (not as many buckets, but still quite a few)
4. Michael Jordan: 32,292 points (a moderate amount of buckets)
5. LeBron James: 31,425 points (very few buckets)

That’s a 6,962-point gap between fifth place and first place — or 22.2 points per game over the 314 remaining regular-season games on James’ four-year deal in Los Angeles. It’s doable. Barring any major injuries, actually, it’s likely.

James has played every game this season, including three sets of back-to-backs. He is averaging 27.6 points per game. If he maintains a 27 point-per-game scoring average through the remaining 68 games on the schedule, he’ll score an additional 1,836 points.

That would give James 33,261 career points, moving him past Jordan and within striking distance of Bryant.

And that’s just in Year 1

James is both aging and expected to attract other superstars to Los Angeles next summer. Both factors could contribute to a lower scoring average next season. Let’s call it one fewer point per game.

If James averages 26 points per game next season and plays 80 out of 82 games, that would give him an additional 2,080 points. After Year 2 in Los Angeles, provided he maintains that level of production, James would be sitting third all-time in front of Bryant and behind Malone with 35,341 points.

After Year 2?

Using that same logic, it would be miraculous for 36-year-old LeBron James to continue averaging that many points per game. But James is an all-time great in large part due to the shape he’s kept his body in. If in Year 3 in L.A., James could find himself averaging 24 points per game and over 77 games. He would add an additional 1,848 points to his scoring total.

That would send him past Malone and behind only Abdul-Jabbar with 37,189 points. James would only be trailing Kareem by 1,198 points.

And in Year 4?

If James enters his fourth season in Los Angeles with 37,266 points, he would only need to average 14.6 points per game over 82 games — or 17.1 points per game over 70 games — to make that many points up in Year 4. A healthy 37-year-old LeBron James could average 18-to-20 points per game in his sleep.

Barring any major injuries, he should be able to catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and claim the top spot on the NBA’s all-time leading scorer’s list. And that’s if his scoring totals decrease over the years... not if they stay the same.

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