Sports aren’t only about numbers and statistics, but sometimes remain engraved in history because of their significance and their impact on people’s minds. Some records were considered unbreakable at the time they were set and effectively still exist today, like Wilt Chamberlain’s record for the most points scored in a single game. 

Another major record was achieved by Kareem Abdul Jabbar on April 5 1984 in Las Vegas. During a Jazz-Lakers game, he scored 22 points for a total of 31,421 points in his career, becoming the record holder for the most career points in NBA history. He raised the bar to 38,387 points by the end of his career in 1989. At the time, people thought they would never see the record broken.

They were right for more than 30 years, until February 7 2023. The Lakers and Thunder played at the Crypto.Com Arena, in Los Angeles and everyone there wasn’t there just to see the game, but were there to see a 38-year-old player make history. At the end of the first half, LeBron James had already scored 20 points. Everybody in the arena knew that it was just a matter of time, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, constantly caught on camera, smiling as he watched James get closer and closer to his record. 

During the 3rd quarter, James kept scoring without any problem and when there was less than a minute left before the end of the period, he had scored 34 points, only 2 shy of the record. On the last play of the quarter, he received the ball at the free throw line and attempted a turnaround fadeaway. Ball in the basket, two more points, and history made. LBJ turns towards the crowd and raises his arms to the sky. The game stopped for a few minutes to ensure that fans and teammates could celebrate the man who many people consider to be the greatest player of all time. The Lakers then lost the game, but nobody cared about that, all they cared about was the new leading scorer in NBA history.

Despite this being only one of the many records that James has broken, “The Chosen One” was excited at the press conference, where he declared: “I felt like I was on top of the arena” and to the question about who is the greatest player of all time (likely referring to the Michael Jordan vs LeBron James debate) he answered: “I choose myself”. This record for sure helps James in this debate. Later, many Nba superstars of past and present recognized James’ greatness, for example Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan himself. Grizzlies player Ja Morant said that James is the G.O.A.T., or greatest of all time. 

James achieved the record by playing about 150 games less than Kareem, although it should be said that Kareem scored only a 3-point shot in his entire career and this is what makes his record ridiculous. But James showed the world that he can stay on top of his sport for 20 years, in which the game has constantly changed and he has been able to adapt himself to every situation and he is still doing things that none in history has ever done at his age and he doesn’t seem about to stop so there all the assumptions that he goes over 40,000 points. For future generations, breaking the record will not be easy.