Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held the record for being NBA’s all-time scoring leader for almost 40 years. Many thought that the record would stay intact for years to come, but LeBron James finally got past Kareem and became the NBA’s all-time scoring leader.
It was a historic night for sure, but does that mean LeBron James has now become the greatest scorer of all time? Well, if we take a look at the stats, James is certainly a good scorer, but not the greatest. That title belongs to none other than Michael Jordan.
But that’s not a shot at LeBron James by any means. After all, being at the top of the list of the NBA’s scoring list is not a small achievement. Despite that, James is now being criticized for chasing the record due to his longevity. If there is someone who has never been blamed for chasing the record, it’s Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan Once Explained Why He Never Chased Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s All-Time Scoring Record
To be honest, Michael Jordan has several records to his name, and most of them point toward him being one of the greatest scorers of all time. But being the NBA’s all-time scoring record is not one of them. Does that mean he couldn’t achieve that record? Certainly not.
https://twitter.com/Rules23Jordan/status/1470216319458951175
“Well, that never drove me. Stats only add up when you put the effort, you don’t worry about it. Good things happen if people work hard. If I’d play for the stats I’d never retire in 1993? or I’d still be chasing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring lead. That doesn’t drive me. It’s all about winning championships and winning. Stats that matter to me are the games we win and the rings that you collect.”
By 1993, Michael Jordan had already won the third NBA Championship of his career and was in the prime of his career. But he retired from the NBA for almost two seasons. After making his return, Mike also retired for the second time after winning the sixth NBA Championship of his career.
Had Jordan stayed in the NBA, he may have actually had a shot at breaking Kareem’s all-time scoring record. After all, he had 32,292 points to his name, which is just 6,095 points less than Kareem.
So had Michael Jordan played those four extra seasons, it would have been pretty easy for him to surpass Kareem as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. But does that mean LeBron still wouldn’t have caught up to him? That’s a debate for another day.
#MichaelJordan respected the legends before him pic.twitter.com/rtty8XV3OI
— Die-Hard Chicago Bulls Fans (@DieHardCBfans) February 8, 2023
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