Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is on a quest to break a record that for a long time seemed unbreakable. Soon enough, LeBron will surpass another Lakers legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a record held since 1984.
At the level James continues to play at in his 20th season, he will not only surpass that record but push it out to an unforeseen level which will eventually lead to another question. Namely, who of the current crop of NBA talent could potentially be the one to surpass the Lakers superstar in the future?
James recently spoke about this in a sit-down interview with Dave McMenamin of ESPN, mentioning Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant immediately as someone who could surpass him, as well as few other young stars:
“KD’s the first name that comes to mind for sure. His name is not ‘Easy Money’ and ‘Slim Reaper’ for no reason. He does it so effortlessly. His ability to shoot the 3-ball, shoot the mid-range, get to the paint, but also shoot 85-90 [percent] from the free throw line. Those are key ingredients and the most important is about being available on the floor. We have a lot of great scorers in our league, with KD being one of them. Kyrie, Luka, he’s young. Embiid, Giannis, those guys, they put numbers on the board, but you have to have a little luck as well. We all know that health is the most important, not only in sports but in life in general. You have to have some real good luck to be able to be on the floor and still be able to do it.”
Durant is an obvious name to bring up as, like LeBron mentioned, he can score the ball so effortlessly from all levels and his ridiculous shooting ability makes him a prime candidate. He is already 34 years old and in his 15th season, however, and has had some injury issues in recent years. James isn’t wrong in that health obviously plays a big factor in a record such as this and that could wind up hurting Durant’s ability to catch him.
Perhaps the most realistic possibility is Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who, like the Lakers superstar, is putting up unbelievable numbers early on in his career and has a style that should age extremely well.
LeBron still has to break the standing record himself which will happen soon barring anything catastrophic happening, but once that record is set and he eventually hangs it up, the chase to catch James will begin.
LeBron James named Western Conference Player of the Week for Jan 2-Jan 8
If any proof was needed about how unreal James continues to be in his 20th season, the Lakers superstar was recently named Western Conference Player of the Week after averaging 35 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists in an undefeated week for the Lakers.
It was the 66th time LeBron has been named player of the week, an all-time record, and his first such award since December of 2021.
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