Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James’ NBA scoring record pursuit has been put on hold overnight. James — and Anthony Davis — will not participate in Monday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets due to injury management.
James has battled a left ankle injury all season. The team sat him down because of his ankle pain, and James played 44 minutes in a dramatic overtime loss to Boston his Celtics on Saturday. With the Lakers also playing Tuesday, the team chose to rest James for Monday’s game. It will be the 11th game James has missed this season. Davis will miss Monday’s game with a foot injury. Both players could return Tuesday against the New York Knicks.
James’ return to the game would put him 117 points off Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record.
LeBron James closes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record
James is playing inspired ball while closing in on Abdul-Jabbar’s record. James has scored at least 40 points in two of his last three games. Due to the scoring surge, James’ scheduled date Abdul moved his jabber forward to February 4, but missing Monday’s game will push him back to February 7.
It would be the perfect opportunity for James to break the record. The Lakers are in the midst of his five-game trip and will return home on February 7 to face the Oklahoma City Thunder. If James fails to break his record that night, the team will play him at home on February 9 as well. .
James, 38, is averaging 30.2 points per game this season. This is James’ fourth-highest scoring average in his career. Throughout his career, James averaged 27.2 points per game. Thanks to that number, James is on pace to overtake his Jabbar Abdul in over 100 games less. Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in 1,560 games he played. James has appeared in 1,406 games and is just 117 points off Abdul’s jabber record.
When will LeBron James break the NBA scoring record?
With James out on Monday, let’s take a look at the Lakers’ upcoming schedule before the All-Star break.
Tuesday: New York Knicks, 7:30 pm ET (TNT)
February 2: Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m. ET
February 4th: New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m. ET
February 7: vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 10:30 PM ET
February 9th: vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 10pm ET TNT
February 11th: Golden State Warriors, 8:30 PM ET (ABC)
February 13th: Portland Trailblazers, 10pm ET
February 15th: vs New Orleans Pelicans, 10pm ET ESPN