How did LeBron James get his points compared to the other scoring greats?

LeBron James is now the NBA's second all-time leading scorer after passing Karl Malone. From there, only 1,459 points separate him from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s top spot on the list. It would only take James 54 more games at his career 27 points per game scoring average to break the record.  

James is in elite company when it comes to that top-five list. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Malone and Abdul-Jabbar are the others, in that order. Each man amassed his points in unique ways and at different paces. 

James obviously played in a different era, with more emphasis on 3-point shooting. His own shift in scoring tendencies have reflected those changes, even since he entered the league in 2003. He’s swapped out a ton of those popular midrange shots of 18 years ago for 3-pointers above the break today. And once considered a weak shooter, he's now pretty solid from outside. 

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Even James’ attitude about scoring has changed from earlier in his career. Back in 2017 when he was on the cusp of breaking one of Jordan’s points records, he took umbrage to being labeled a scorer.

In a recent interview on Uninterrupted’s The Shop, James shared a completely different point of view. 

When they talk about the best scorers of all-time, they never mention my name.
Yeah, it pisses me off. It pisses me off. They don’t ever bring my name into it.

James shouldn’t worry too much. He will be mentioned in that best scorer conversation when he retires. He will be forever compared and debated alongside the rest of the top five. 

Looking at the way he scored, he most closely resembles Bryant. They took a comparable number of 3’s to get to their points total, although Bryant favored those midrange shots while James took it to the rim and finished at a much better clip. 

Abdul-Jabbar, Jordan and Malone reflect a different era of basketball, away from the 3-point line. Abdul-Jabbar only made one 3 in his career. Most of his points came in the paint and on short jumpers. Jordan was more of a midrange and rim scorer. And Malone had a few sweet spots from midrange and the paint off pick-and-rolls from John Stockton that he generated almost all of his scoring from. 

Longevity is obviously a huge factor in a record like this. Jordan’s 30.1 point per game scoring average tops the others by a significant margin (James’ 27.1 is in second-place). He’s the best scorer of the group, but his two retirements didn’t give him the necessary amount of games to get higher up on the all-time points list. 

Abdul-Jabbar’s 24.6 points per game is the lowest of the five, but he played in an unbelievably high total number of games and had remarkably good health. He averaged 78 games per season over the course of 20 years. 

James and Bryant also had an advantage in starting a lot younger than the rest of the players on the list. Both skipped college to go right to the pros. Looking at career points by age, James has outpaced everyone else on the list. 

James has also been a much better scorer later in his career than the rest of the top players. His age 37 season crushes the other four players’ numbers:

Much of the reason for James' continuing scoring dominance, as NBA analyst Ben Taylor has pointed out on his YouTube channel, is that he has been able to downsize to center this season. He’s also benefited from the better spacing in today’s game, making it easier for him to get to the rim and score. He’s using his strength and size a lot more than his athleticism and quickness that he relied on in his earlier years. 

Once James seizes the record, it's hard to see anyone close to his heels. Kevin Durant will probably finish somewhere in the top 10, but he'd have to play into his age 39 season while maintaining his current career scoring average. James Harden would need to play to that same age at his career scoring average. That's hard to envision with the conditioning problems that he has had. Carmelo Anthony is ninth on the list, but he has no chance to catch James unless he plays into his late 40s. 

If James does play long enough to claim the all-time record, it will be his to hold for a long time. It will be one of the most remarkable feats in a career full of them.