When will LeBron break Kareem’s record?

LeBron James is on the verge of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer. Abdul-Jabbar has been atop the career points list since April 5, 1984 when he broke the mark previously held by Wilt Chamberlain. Now James has that record within reach.

So when will James score the 158 points he needs to surpass Abdul-Jabbar's career total of 38,387? That depends.

- At his career scoring average of 27.2 points per game, James would need six games to break the mark, putting him on track to do it Feb. 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

- At his 2022-23 scoring average of 29.9 points per game, James would also need six games to break the mark.

- Since turning 38 on Dec. 30, James is averaging 34.8 points per game. If he maintains that average, James would need five games to break the mark, putting him on track to do it Feb. 4 against the New Orleans Pelicans.

This all assumes James plays every game between now and when he breaks the record. He's already missed 10 games this season and the Lakers have one remaining back-to-backs between now and the end of February.

We'll have ongoing coverage of LeBron's quest, including updated game-by-game projections and complete stats, throughout the season.