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LeBron James becomes second all-time leading NBA scorer, gets standing ovation from fans - WATCH
LeBron James achieved the feat in Lakers' match against Washington Wizards, which the latter won 127-119 on Saturday.
Basketball icon and Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James rose to the second spot on the NBA's all-time scoring list. James achieved the feat in Lakers' match against Washington Wizards, which the latter won 127-119 on Saturday.
James, who kicked-off his illustrious NBA career in 2003, was 21 points away to overtake Karl Malone, who had registered a total of 36,928 points under his name. The 37-year-old secured 38 points in the clash, which featured 10 rebounds and 6 assists. He now has 36,947 points in the regular season having played 113 games fewer than Malone.
The star campaigner completed the milestone with a lay-up in the second quarter as the crowd present in the arena gave the 37-year-old a standing ovation.
However, not everything went as per plans as Wizards, who made an impressive comeback from a 16-point deficit to beat the Lakers, who are ninth in the Western Conference.
"Obviously, at some point I'll be able to look back at this moment but right now, the feeling I have, I can't separate it," James said.
Former Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a six-times NBA champion, tops the scoring list with 38,387 points -- a record that has stood for 33 years since he retired in 1989.
"I will not allow myself to think about it. I've always just played the game the way I've been playing it over the years," James added.
"These things have just happened organically by just going out and playing the game the right way... I hope to accomplish that at some point in my career, but I won't think about it too much."
James, a four-times NBA champion and 18-times All-Star, is under contract with the Lakers for next season, which will be his fifth with Los Angeles and 20th overall.
-with Reuters inputs
