LeBron James etched another milestone in basketball history Thursday night, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s regular-season career minutes record during the Lakers’ 113-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
James broke the record just over a minute into the second quarter, reaching a career total of 57,447 minutes. Abdul-Jabbar previously held the mark with 57,446 minutes over 20 seasons. James, now in his 22nd season, achieved this feat in fewer games—1,517 compared to Abdul-Jabbar’s 1,560.
Reflecting on the achievement, James expressed his gratitude: “It’s a pretty cool honor, obviously, anytime I’m linked with some of the greats that ever played this game. To know I’ve been available to my teammates and done this at a high level for two decades is very humbling.”
This milestone follows James breaking Abdul-Jabbar’s combined regular season and playoff minutes record in late November 2023. On that occasion, he reached 66,318 minutes in a game against Philadelphia.
Additionally, James hit another significant mark Thursday, becoming the 13th player in Lakers history to score 10,000 points for the franchise, thanks to his 19-point performance.
