Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is just a few hundred points away from passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA‘s all-time leading scorer. Once James hits that milestone (likely before the 2023 All-Star Game), the conversation will quickly turn to which players in the league might have a chance to one day get close to, or even surpass James’ point production. When it comes to that topic, James has a few guesses of his own.
“[Kevin Durant] is the first one who comes to mind, for sure,” James told ESPN when asked about players that could ultimately eclipse him on the scoring list. “His name is not ‘Easy Money’ and ‘Slim Reaper’ for no reason. He does it so effortlessly. His ability to shoot the 3-ball, shoot the midrange, get to the paint and also shoot 85 to 90 percent from the free throw line. Those are key ingredients, plus the most important is about being available on the floor.”
“We have a lot of great scorers in our league with [Durant] being one of them,” James added. “Kyrie, Luka [Doncic] is young, [Joel] Embiid, Giannis [Antetokounmpo]. Those guys, they put numbers on the board, but you have to have a little luck as well. We all know that health is the most important thing not only in sports, but in life in general. You have to have some real good luck to be able to be on the floor and still do it.”
You can see James’ comments on the subject below:
Durant is the most obvious answer here. He currently sits 14th on the all-time scoring list with over 26,600 points, and at 34 years old he’s still one of the NBA’s best scorers when he’s on the floor. As a player that relies heavily on his size and his shooting stroke to produce points, Durant should be able to continue to score at a high clip, even as he loses athleticism with age. It wouldn’t be shocking at all to see Durant at, or near, the top of the list when he eventually decides to hang up his Nikes.
The other players James named — Doncic, Embiid, Irving and Antetokounmpo — are all elite scorers, but they all have a long way to go before they could be considered real threats for the scoring crown, especially since James will likely continue to add to his all-time total after passing Abdul-Jabbar.
There’s no shortage of great scorers in the NBA today, and new ones enter the league seemingly every year. Just look at Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero, who is averaging over 21…
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