NBA: LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to set new record in LA Lakers defeat to the Denver Nuggets - 'It's a pretty cool feat'

LeBron James set another NBA scoring record, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most field goals scored in history. The LA Lakers fell to a 120-113 defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday as the Los Angeles franchise crashed to their 25th defeat of the season. It's another record for James, who is the record points scorer in the history of the NBA.

LeBron James is unstoppable.

The LA Lakers star wrote his name into the history books once more on Thursday as he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most field goals in the NBA.

James scored 16 points as the Lakers crashed to a 120-113 defeat to the Denver Nuggets, while the 41-year-old passed Abdul-Jabbar’s tally of 15,837 in the first quarter at the Ball Arena.

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The basketball icon already holds the record for the most points scored in the competition’s history and last year became the first player to reach 50,000 points in the regular season and post-season combined.

James also broke another Abdul-Jabbar record for the most minutes played in NBA history back in 2024.

After the game, the four-time MVP admitted it’s a "pretty cool feat" to have set the record for most field goals in NBA history.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

"Being mentioned with some of the greatest to ever play this game has always been humbling," James said.

"I grew up watching, reading [about], idolising a lot of the greats, and if I was able to be part of the NBA, I wanted to put myself in position that I can be named with some of the greats by doing something right.

"It's a pretty cool feat, but it's hard for me to kind of wrap my head around it or what it looks like.

"It's something that I never had a goal to have that record. I came into this league understanding that I had to start from scratch.

"As the No. 1 player in the country, I had to start from scratch and get myself up that plateau of being the No. 1 player in the world again. So that was my only mindset.

"I don't know how many players have played in the NBA, but it's the greatest players in the world. And for my name to be mentioned with the greats and be at the top of it is awesome."

Bruce Springsteen comparison

Before the game, Lakers coach JJ Redick compared James’ career evolution to that of legendary singer Bruce Springsteen.

"I'm a big Bruce Springsteen fan," Redick started. "I would probably say his early albums really get me going. There's a youthfulness to him. And energy. 'Nebraska' is actually my favourite album of all time, and that's like very different for what he had done that far in his career.

Four-time MVP LeBron James is the record points scorer in NBA history

Image credit: Newspix

"And then, you can see the evolution of him as a singer/songwriter. And then, he comes out with the greatest hits, and you're like, 'Wow, this is pretty good.' And then after that, he comes out with 'The Rising', which is one of the most important albums of the 2000s.

"So, you get to the end, and you're like, 'Holy s*** this guy's greatest hits are like insane."

James is expected to claim another record before long, with his appearance against the Nuggets his 1,606th of his career.

He’s now just five short of matching Robert Parish’s haul of 1,611 career outings, set across 21 seasons.

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