Three years and one month after LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, history repeated itself Thursday night, with a fadeaway jumper ultimately unlocking another milestone for The King.
Despite a fourth-quarter elbow injury that kept him out for the game’s final possessions, James finished with 16 points (7-11 FG, 2-2 FT), five rebounds, eight assists, three steals and a block. And in true Laker fashion, they fell to the Denver Nuggets, 120-113, squandering their chance to move up to fifth in the West.
LeBron Adds to ‘Greatest Hits’ With All-Time Field Goals Record
James recorded his 15,838th made field goal late in the first quarter, posting up Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji before turning around and sinking a baseline fader.
LEBRON JAMES.
MOST FIELD GOALS MADE IN NBA HISTORY.
— NBA (@NBA) March 6, 2026
Reflecting on his latest achievement, James said:
“At the end of the day, just my name being linked to some of the greatest that have ever played this game has always been humbling and it’s a pretty cool thing. I grew up watching, reading, idolizing a lot of the greats. If I was ever able to be a part of the NBA, I wanted to put myself in position where I could be named with some of the greats by doing something right. So that’s pretty cool.”
LeBron on his turnaround fadeaway to break the FGM record and the origin:
"Losing the finals to Dallas and playing like shit. Everything in the post, going to see Hakeem, put in that work" pic.twitter.com/8uR89BtYHe
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) March 6, 2026
Head coach JJ Redick called James a “complete player” throughout his 23-year career, marveling at “how dynamic he is at transition.”
Prior to Thursday’s contest, he compared James’ career to “The Boss,” Bruce Springsteen, saying:
“You get to the end [of Springsteen’s career], you’re like, ‘Holy … this guy’s greatest hits are insane. And LeBron’s greatest hits, I mean he just keeps adding to ‘em. He just plays and plays and plays, and the greatest hits—he’s got a hell of a catalogue.”
LeBron’s Next Record Coming Soon
As James’ future remains up in the air beyond this season, he still has time to add more accolades as the current campaign winds down. According to The Athletic’s Dan Woike, James needs only seven more games to pass Boston Celtics legend Robert Parish for the most regular-season games played (1,611). Had he come out of this game unscathed, James would’ve been on track to reach that mark on March 18, when the Lakers face the Houston Rockets. But if the elbow injury causes him to miss more time, the accomplishment could be delayed further.
Because of various foot and back injuries (in addition to early-season sciatica), James fell below the NBA’s 65-game requirement for end-of-season awards, ending a 21-year-long streak of All-NBA appearances.
The Lakers are right back at it Friday, battling the Indiana Pacers back in LA at 7:30 p.m.
© Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
