LeBron James wrote NBA history on Wednesday. The star player of the Los Angeles Lakers replaced Oklahoma City Thunder legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the player with the most points in the world’s greatest basketball league ever in the game against Oklahoma City Thunder. James needed 36 points before the game to beat Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points. He made 38. The historic point came in the third quarter of the game.

Duel paused

The duel was then stopped. 38-year-old James raised both hands and looked up, photographers gathered around him, the crowd cheered him and his fellow players congratulated him. James’ relatives and NBA boss Adam Silver then spoke. A video full of highlights was also shown. And Abdul-Jabbar – who was sitting at the edge of the field – came forward to congratulate James on the record.

Emotional Lebron James: ‘This is incredible’

James made his NBA debut in 2003. He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and the Lakers. He played his 1,410th game against the Thunder. Abdul-Jabbar played in the NBA from 1969 to 1989. He captured six titles – two more than James – and held the points record since 1984. Abdul-Jabbar played a total of 1,560 NBA games. “I want to thank everyone who has supported me over the past twenty years. Without you none of this would have been possible,” said an emotional James when he received the microphone during the ceremony. The star turned to Abdul-Jabbar. “It makes me very humble to be able to do this in the presence of a legend like you,” he said. “It is unbelievable.”

Match finished

After the ceremony, the basketball match was played out in the Crypto.com Arena. Despite James’ 38 points, the Lakers lost 130-133. An unfortunate result for the Lakers, but all in all it wasn’t about the end result in this match. It was Lebron James’ night and well deserved!