Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 39-year record finally broke in the hands of LeBron James

Los Angeles Lakers player, LeBron James. (Photo: Twitter/@KingJames)

JAKARTA - Basketball player LeBron James has successfully broken the record for scoring the most points in NBA history. He passed basketball legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The record was carved by James when his Los Angeles Lakers team lost 130-133 against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena, United States, Tuesday night local time or Wednesday, February 8, Western Indonesian Time (WIB).

In that game, James scored 38 points. This addition was enough for him to hold the record for scoring the most points previously controlled by Kareem for 39 years.

The record previously believed by many people will be difficult to break.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record was certainly missed after James added two points from 21 feet (6.4 meters) at the end of the third quarter. Total James has now carved 38.390 points throughout his career.

To reach that record, James had to take 20 seasons and 1.410 matches. He now leads by as many as three points over Kareem who has 38.387 points in 1.560 games.

The match was paused moments after James made his record. A short ceremony was carried out with Kareem who was present to watch the match live.

"I just want to say, thank you to the Laker fans. You are one of the best. To be in the presence of such a great legend as Kareem, it is very proud. Please give a big round of applause to the captain," James said as reported by The Guardian.

Abdul-Jabbar, who has held the record since April 1984, wrote in an article in The Guardian in 2019 that athletes who set records can be an inspiration to many people.

"Every time an athlete demonstrates that someone is capable of more than we thought, they inspire all of humanity to realize that they are capable of going farther than they thought," he wrote.

Behind those two names, there are three other names that are in the top five scorers. Successively are Karl Marone (36.928 points), Kobe Bryant (33.643 points), Michael Jordan (32.292).