NBA: LeBron James climbs to No. 2 in all-time scoring
LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on after losing to the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on March 19, 2022 in Washington, DC. Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP
LeBron James moved into second place on the NBA’s all-time regular season points scoring rankings on Saturday, overtaking Karl Malone during the Los Angeles Lakers road game against the Washington Wizards.
The 37-year-old superstar -– who holds the NBA’s outright scoring record for regular season and playoff games — started the game needing just 20 points to surpass Malone’s regular-season tally of 36,928.
LeBron James is now 2nd All-Time in Scoring.
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— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2022
The Lakers ace wasted no time in tracking down Malone’s benchmark, quickly notching 10 points and then moving to 16 with back-to-back three-pointers early in the second quarter.
The four-time NBA champion then added another three-pointer to tie Malone, before finally taking sole possession of second place with a two-point layup with just over five minutes left in the second quarter.
👑 LeBron receives a standing ovation after moving into 2nd All-Time in Scoring!
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— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2022
The Washington crowd gave James an ovation after he reached the milestone, with the Lakers star saluting fans as he basked in the applause.
James still has some distance to go however before he passes another Lakers icon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in first place.
Abdul-Jabbar leads the all-time regular season scorers with 38,387 points.
Malone amassed his points tally in 1,476 games during 19 seasons in the NBA. James’s points haul came in the 1,363rd regular season game of his career.
