On March 5, 2026, LeBron James, forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time leader in NBA field goals made. This historic milestone was achieved during a game against the Denver Nuggets when James scored a turnaround baseline jump shot over Denver’s Zeke Nnaji with 12.3 seconds left in the first quarter, marking his 15,838th career field goal.
Details of the Record-Breaking Moment and Career Highlights
The shot that secured James’s place atop the NBA field goals leaderboard was his third basket of the night, a testament to his consistency and skill. This accomplishment adds to James’s prior historic achievements, including becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on February 7, 2023, when he surpassed Abdul-Jabbar with a step-back jumper from the foul line. Since that game, James has continued to extend his scoring record beyond 43,000 points, demonstrating remarkable endurance and scoring ability over his career.
James’s Continual Accumulation of Records and Milestones
Lakers coach JJ Redick compared James’s achievements to those of a renowned musician, saying,
“I’m a big Bruce Springsteen fan,”
and,
“And LeBron’s greatest hits, he just keeps adding to them. He just plays and plays and plays. And the greatest hits are just … he’s got a hell of a catalog.”
This analogy highlights James’s ongoing dominance and ability to rewrite the record books.
In addition to breaking the field goals record, James recently passed Michael Cooper to move into fifth place on the Lakers’ all-time assists list. He also joined Kobe Bryant as only the second Laker to make 1,000 three-point shots for the franchise, further solidifying his legendary status within the team and the league.
Anticipation Builds for Upcoming Career Milestone
Looking forward, James is approaching another significant milestone: the record for most games played in NBA history. Current record-holder Robert Parish leads with 1,611 games, while James has played in 1,606. If James participates in every remaining game on the Lakers’ schedule, he is expected to surpass Parish on March 16 in a matchup against the Houston Rockets, marking yet another historic moment in his career.
