Which player did LeBron James pass to become NBA all-time scoring leader?

LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time scoring leader. James reached the milestone on February 7, 2023, during a Los Angeles Lakers game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena.

Abdul-Jabbar had held the NBA regular-season scoring record since 1984, when he moved past Wilt Chamberlain. His total of 38,387 points stood for nearly four decades. James broke the record with a fourth-quarter fadeaway jumper, pushing his regular-season total to 38,388 points and briefly stopping the game for a ceremony honoring the achievement.

The record is sometimes confused with combined regular-season and playoff scoring, where statistical comparisons can use different totals. The NBA's official regular-season record was the specific milestone James surpassed. James's achievement reflected extraordinary longevity as well as production: he had already won scoring titles, played for three franchises, and reached the NBA Finals 10 times by the time he claimed the record.