LeBron James on pace to climb ladder in NBA all-time scores

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, considered one of the all-time basketball greats, is eyeing new records in the league, especially in the all-time scoring category, as the 2021-22 campaign -- the 75th season of the NBA -- begins Tuesday.

A four-time NBA champion -- 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2020 -- James scored 35,367 points in 1,310 games since 2003 when he turned professional.

The former Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers forward is currently third on the NBA's all-time scoring list, with the best two -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone -- has long been retired.

The LA Lakers signed the 36-year-old superstar in 2018.​​​​​​​

The NBA's top regular season scorer, Abdul-Jabbar, who is a Lakers legend, racked up 38,387 points in 1,560 games.

Abdul-Jabbar, who had a 19-year run in the league, retired in 1989.

Malone, considered as one of the best power forwards in the NBA history, and a longtime Utah Jazz player, scored 36,928 points in 1,476 games to rank second on the all-time scoring list.

James targets to surpass Malone in the scoring category this season, as the gap between the two is 1,561 points.

In the 2020-21 NBA regular season, James averaged 25 points in 45 games with the Lakers.

James has to score at least 19 points per game in the 82-game 2021-22 regular season to tie with Malone if he does not miss a single match.

This season he is unlikely to beat Abdul-Jabbar's record for sure but will work for it as James need to tally 3,021 points to reach him.

In a few seasons, James is expected to break the long-standing record if no major injuries happen.

For NBA's all-time field goals made list, James is currently at the third spot with 12,903 made shots.

Standing in the second spot, Karl Malone hit 625 more shots than James. LeBron James can take this spot from Malone during this regular season.

In the first place, Abdul-Jabbar hit a total of 15,837 shots during his career, a record still stands strong.

In the NBA's all-time scoring leaders list, James has already surpassed Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

Killed in a 2020 helicopter crash in California, Lakers legend Bryant is in the fourth spot with 33,643 points in 1,346 games during his 20-year career.

Bryant helped the Lakers to claim five NBA trophies – in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2010.

Former Chicago Bulls superstar and NBA legend Michael Jordan scored 32,292 points in 1,072 games to rank fifth.

During his career with the Bulls, Jordan clinched six NBA titles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

- James leads all-time scoring list among active players

Meanwhile, among the active NBA players, James is the all-time top scorer with 35,367 career points.

His teammate Carmelo Anthony scored 27,370 points in 1,191 games to follow James at second place in active players' list.

The 37-year-old Lakers forward previously played for several franchises such as the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, and Portland Trail Blazers.

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, 33, had 23,883 points in 884 games to pursue Anthony.

Two-time Finals MVP Durant was a longtime Seattle Supersonics / Oklahoma City Thunder member, played for the franchise for 9 seasons, between 2007 and 2016.

The Sonics were relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder in 2008.

He played for the Golden State Warriors for three seasons until his leave in 2019.

Then the two-time NBA champion joined the Nets.

- 75th NBA season begins Tuesday

The 2021-22 NBA season will start on Tuesday, Oct. 19, with two games.

The Nets will visit the reigning champions, Milwaukee Bucks, at Fiserv Forum.

In the meantime, the Golden State Warriors will face the Lakers in Los Angeles' STAPLES Center.

The regular season will conclude on April 10, 2022. Then it will be followed by play-in, playoffs and the NBA Finals.

All the 30 teams were scheduled to play 82 games this season each, which was named the NBA's 75th anniversary season, making it a special one.

In addition, it will be the first time that the teams will play it fully since the 2018-19 season because the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the 2019-20 campaign.

The 2020-21 season was previously reduced to 72 games and began in December 2020 for health reasons.

The Bucks are the defending champions.