LeBron James moved past Karl Malone into second place on the NBA’s career scoring list Saturday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar scored his 36,929th point on a layup in the second quarter against the Washington Wizards.
James began the night needing 20 points to reach the mark. He now trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), whose record has stood since he retired in 1989.
Malone occupied the No. 2 spot since Dec. 6, 2000, when he moved past Wilt Chamberlain.
Congrats to @KingJames of the @Lakers for moving up to 2nd on the All-Time Scoring list! #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/UMyxK1Nx6g
— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2022
Now the big question is when will James become the NBA’s all-time scoring leader?
This is, of course, the Holy Grail of career records, because the purpose of the game is to put the ball through the hoop, right? If LeBron stays reasonably healthy, meaning he doesn’t suffer an injury serious enough to keep him benched for an extended period of time, he should catch Kareem next season.