LeBron James passes Wilt Chamberlain for fifth place on NBA's all-time scoring list

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LeBron James added to the history books today, passing Wilt Chamberlain for fifth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

James entered Thursday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers needing 39 points to pass Chamberlain and in the fourth quarter of their 126-117 win, the King got the and-1 bucket to go with 3:55 remaining, burying the free throw to take fifth place for himself.

James will likely pass Michael Jordan for fourth place sometime in January if he keeps his current scoring up, with Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar occupying the top three spots.


James finished the game with 44 points on 13-of-19 shooting, 10 rebounds, nine assists and three blocks.

Here's the rest of the top ten all-time.

Rank Player Points
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar  38,387
2. Karl Malone  36,928
3. Kobe Bryant 33,643
4. Michael Jordan 32,292
5. LeBron James  31,425
6. Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
7. Dirk Nowitzki  31,187
8. Shaquille O'Neal  28,596
9. Moses Malone 27,409
10 Elvin Hayes  27,313

 

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Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor for The Sporting News.