LeBron James vs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: First points, signature shots and more from top scorers in NBA history

Jordan Greer

LeBron James vs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: First points, signature shots and more from top scorers in NBA history image

LeBron James has nearly reached the mountaintop.

Heading into the Lakers' matchup with the Thunder on Tuesday night, James is only 36 points away from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Abdul-Jabbar has held the record for more than three decades. Now, James will likely stand at No. 1 on the list for several years because he will only keep adding to his total.

The All-Star forward's latest accomplishment will serve as another reminder of how James and Abdul-Jabbar managed to put together two of the greatest careers in sports history.

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LeBron vs. Kareem: Their first points

James and Abdul-Jabbar scored their first NBA points from similar spots on the floor.

Abdul-Jabbar banked in an off-balance midrange attempt, and James hit a pull-up jumper along the baseline.

Abdul-Jabbar finished with 29 points in the Bucks' win over the Pistons. James scored 25 points in the Cavaliers' loss to the Kings.

LeBron vs. Kareem: Their signature shots

Abdul-Jabbar dominated his opponents with the most unstoppable weapon the league has ever seen: the skyhook.

"If you can effectively deliver with that kind of shot, you can be a consistent player in this league," Abdul-Jabbar said. "I got to be the highest scorer in NBA history because I used that shot."

While he doesn't possess a move quite as iconic as the skyhook, James believes that his "tomahawk dunk in transition" will go down as his signature shot.

"Even one of my teammates now today, Lonnie Walker, always talks about the LeBron signature tomahawk dunk, and that's been pretty cool," James told ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

LeBron vs. Kareem: Season-by-season breakdown

Abdul-Jabbar hit the ground running after being selected by the Bucks with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1969 NBA Draft. He led the league in total points in each of his first three seasons (1969-70, 1970-71 and 1971-72).

Those are also the three highest-scoring seasons of Abdul-Jabbar's career.

Season Points per game Total points
1969-70 28.8 2,361
1970-71 31.7 2,596
1971-72 34.8 2,822
1972-73 30.2 2,292
1973-74 27.0 2,191
1974-75 30.0 1,949
1975-76 27.7 2,275
1976-77 26.2 2,152
1977-78 25.8 1,600
1978-79 23.8 1,903
1979-80 24.8 2,034
1980-81 26.2 2,095
1981-82 23.9 1,818
1982-83 21.8 1,722
1983-84 21.5 1,717
1984-85 22.0 1,735
1985-86 23.4 1,846
1986-87 17.5 1,366
1987-88 14.6 1,165
1988-89 10.1 748
Career 24.6 38,387

After averaging 20.9 points per game as a rookie with the Cavaliers in 2003-04, James has posted at least 25 points per game in every other season of his career.

He won the scoring title in 2007-08 when he averaged 30 points per game.

Season Points per game Total points
2003-04 20.9 1,654
2004-05 27.2 2,175
2005-06 31.4 2,478
2006-07 27.3 2,132
2007-08 30.0 2,250
2008-09 28.4 2,304
2009-10 29.7 2,258
2010-11 26.7 2,111
2011-12 27.1 1,683
2012-13 26.8 2,036
2013-14 27.1 2,089
2014-15 25.3 1,743
2015-16 25.3 1,920
2016-17 26.4 1,954
2017-18 27.5 2,251
2018-19 27.4 1,505
2019-20 25.3 1,698
2020-21 25.0 1,126
2021-22 30.3 1,695
2022-23 30.0 1,290
Career 27.2 38,325

LeBron vs. Kareem: Team-by-team breakdown

James racked up more than 60 percent of his career points during two different stints with the Cavaliers. He was most efficient as a member of the Heat, shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from 3-point range.

Team (Seasons) Points per game Total points
Cavaliers (11) 27.2 23,119
Heat (4) 26.9 7,919
Lakers (5) 27.5 7,314

Abdul-Jabbar did most of his damage with the Lakers, pouring in more than 24,000 points in a purple and gold uniform across 14 seasons. His field goal and free throw percentages improved after he was traded from Milwaukee to Los Angeles.

Team (Seasons) Points per game Total points
Lakers (14) 22.1 24,176
Bucks (6) 30.4 14,211

LeBron vs. Kareem: When they landed at No. 1

On April 5, 1984, Abdul-Jabbar jumped ahead of Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time scoring list with, of course, a skyhook. 

How will James pass Abdul-Jabbar? Could he pull out the skyhook when he is one bucket away from making history?

Probably not.

"I've toyed with it more recently than I did when I was a kid. ... I never toyed around with the skyhook unless you're playing a game of HORSE," James told ESPN's Michael Wilbon. "You're playing a game of HORSE, you mess around, see if you can get one not thinking that your friend would be able to make it, or things of that nature.

"But I never put it into the lab."

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.