As James approaches the record, our sports department has the milestone covered from all angles.
LeBron James’ pursuit of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career record of 38,387 points has been a topic for more than a week, a month or a season.
“Sure, but somebody is going to have to play pretty close to 20 years and be the offensive focus and be someone the coach wants to take a lot of shots,” Abdul-Jabbar said in a story that appeared Nov. 15, 2012, before his statue was unveiled outside then-Staples Center. “Who knows who is going to last that long? LeBron and Kobe can certainly score and might do it. But most people tell me they’re making too much money and won’t play that long.
Kareem was right: LeBron has needed to play 20 seasons to get here, and, um, yes, his coach still wants him to take shots.