Wilt Chamberlain is arguably the most dangerous shotmaker in NBA history. He holds the NBA record for most points in a game (100), most points per game in a season (50.4) and most field goals in a season (1,597), but because he played in an era without much of modern medical progress. enabling the kind of longevity that current players achieve, some of his career records are fragile.
LeBron James, for example, has already passed him on the NBA’s all-time scoreboard. He did so in November 2018, right after he joined Chamberlain’s former team, the Los Angeles Lakers. On Thursday, he passed Chamberlain on another all-time list. With his third field goal against the Denver Nuggets, James reached 12,682 for his career. That puts him third in NBA history. The piece came on a lay-up early in the first quarter.
James still has a way to go before hitting the two players currently ahead of him on that list, who also happen to be the NBA’s two best scorers of all time. Both are former Lakers. Karl Malone is second with 13,528 field goals, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the all-time leader with 15,837.
LeBron averages about 735 field goals per season for his career. Therefore, assuming he maintains his current pace, he would pass Malone by the end of next season and then need about three more seasons to catch up with Kareem. However, it should be noted that the difficulty of LeBron’s shots is slightly higher as he plays in an NBA dominated by the 3 pointer. Abdul-Jabbar tried 18 in his entire career, while Chamberlain didn’t play in a league with a 3-point line. When LeBron finally passes Kareem, it gets even more impressive.