NBA Superstar LeBron James became on Thursday the basketball player with the most field goals made in NBA regular season history, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during the Los Angeles Lakers’ defeat against the Denver Nuggets.
With a shot — his second of the game — 12 seconds before the end of the first quarter, King James added another record to his career, now totalling 15,838 made field goals, one more than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with Karl Malone in third place on a distant 13,528.
In his 23rd NBA season, LeBron James has attempted more field goals than any other player in history — 31,285 in total, of which more than 7,500 from beyond the three-point line — converting 51.6% of his attempts. Abdul-Jabbar finished his career with a 55.9% field goal percentage, having attempted 28,307 shots and just 18 three-pointers, which only became official midway through his career.
LeBron James, who at 41 has already become the oldest player to record a triple-double, is the all-time leading scorer in both the regular season and the playoffs in NBA history, and this season surpassed 50,000 career points.
Also this season, LeBron could add another record to his list: if he plays six more regular season games, he will surpass Robert Parish’s record of 1,611 games played, with the Lakers star already holding the playoff record at 292 appearances.
However, the record-breaking night was not entirely joyful for LeBron James, who scored 16 points but saw the Lakers beaten at Denver Nuggets, 120-113. Nikola Jokić was the standout performer with a triple-double (28 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds), with Jamal Murray also reaching 28 points for the Nuggets, while Luka Dončić led the Lakers with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
The Nuggets sit fifth in the Western Conference with 37 wins and 25 losses, one place above the Lakers, who have 39 wins and 24 defeats.
