LeBron James Passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for Most Leap Day Points

After scoring 31 points in a 134-131 overtime win vs. the Wizards Thursday night, LeBron James now has the most career points scored on Leap Day, with 113 points (28.3 ppg; 52.3 FG%). The record was previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had scored 102 points (25.5 ppg; 52.3 FG%) on February 29 over the course of his career. Other notable mentions include: Kevin Durant– 98 Leap Day points (24.5 ppg; 43.5 FG%), Kobe Bryant– 97 points (24.3 ppg; 47.1% FG), and Kevin Garnett– 90 points (22.5 ppg; 47.2 FG%).

Jabbar has a career total of 38,387 regular season points, and had been the NBA’s all-time leading scorer for 38 years, before a kid from Akron named LeBron James broke his record on February 7, 2023. To point out, LeBron now has 39,991 career points, so presumably in his next game vs. the Nuggets on March 2nd, he will be the first player in NBA history to score 40k points. 

I think we can go out on a limb and actually guarantee that LeBron will reach the 40,000 point milestone on Saturday, considering that he hasn’t scored less than 10 points in a regular season game since the 2006-2007 season, when he was 22 years old. Notably, LeBron scored eight points (3-of-13 shooting) vs. the Bucks on January 5, 2007, however, since this day, he has now scored in double-figure point totals for 1,204 consecutive games. This is a record that is next trailed by Michael Jordan, who has 866 games in a row with 10+ points.

LeBron is 39 years old and is still averaging 25.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.9 assists, which is near his career averages, so who knows if or when he will ever slow down. Playing in his 21st NBA season, there has never been a player more consistent or showcased better longevity than LeBron.

With this in mind, it is almost hard to believe there will ever be another basketball player to walk this earth that will be able to break these scoring records. Seeing that, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer is now also 135 points away from becoming the world’s all-time leading scorer in basketball history (taking into account international games and playoffs), trailing only Brazilian player Oscar Schmidt (49,737 points), who had a 29-year playing career. All in all, what can be promised is that LeBron’s NBA Leap Day points record will stand for a minimum of four years.