Karl Malone

LeBron James passed Karl Malone on the career scoring list, leaving only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar still to catch.

After a six-point first quarter, James went on a scoring binge in the second that included a dunk and three 3-pointers. Moments later, as Washington’s Tomas Satoransky prepared to shoot free throws, James’ accomplishment was put up on the video screen, and the crowd in Washington gave him a standing ovation. “I felt good enough to go,” James said. It wasn’t clear if the 37-year-old James would play on the second night of this back-to-back until shortly before the game. Porzingis connected on a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left to put the Wizards up by six, and James couldn’t answer at the other end. “We had a great opportunity to pick up some more momentum.”

With LeBron James scoring 21 points on Saturday against the Washington Wizards, the Lakers small forward moves into second all-time on the NBA scoring list.

With LeBron James scoring 21 points on Saturday against the Washington Wizards, the Lakers small forward moves into second all-time on the NBA scoring list, surpassing Karl Malone. Malone scored 36,928 points in his 19-year career with both Utah (1985-2003) and the Lakers (2003-04). James now trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) on the all-time points list. James is averaging 29.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists for the season.

On Saturday night, James scored 38 points against the Washington Wizards to pass Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone on the all-time scoring list, and he got emotional ...

Passing Malone on the NBA’s all-time scoring list is impressive enough, but James is well on pace to pass Abdul-Jabbar and eventually become the most prolific scorer in basketball history. There’s a new second-leading scorer in the history of the NBA, and his name is LeBron James. On Saturday night, James scored 38 points against the Washington Wizards to pass Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone on the all-time scoring list, and he got emotional talking about the accomplishment after the game.Now, only one name — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — resides above LeBron on the list, and he’ll have a good chance to pass the Los Angeles Lakers alum sooner than you’d think.James entered Saturday night’s game against the Wizards needing just 20 points to pass Malone as the second-leading scorer in NBA history. Trying to win every game, playing the right way, playing for your teammates and things of that nature.“I hope to accomplish that at some point in my career, but I won’t think about it too much pretty much until we get there hopefully.”James needs 1,441 more points to pass Abdul-Jabbar on the list. Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesAfter the game, James was asked what passing Malone on the all-time scoring list means to him, and he got emotional talking about it.“Just to be part of this league the many years I’ve been a part of it and being linked to some of the greatest who’ve ever played this game and guys I’ve ever watched or studied or read about or aspired to be like … I’m just always lost for words for it. I think myself and him, we always just tried to be in uniform and make plays and stay in condition and try to stay healthy, stay injury-free as much as you can and also be productive on the floor. I think myself and him, we always just tried to be in uniform and make plays and stay in condition and try to stay healthy, stay injury-free as much as you can and also be productive on the floor. Considering he’s averaging 29.8 points per game this season, it was a near-certainty the Lakers forward would jump Malone on the list.It didn’t even take James a full half to do it, as he received a pass on a cut to the basket and scored his 20th point on an easy layup in the middle of the second quarter. “I’ve always just played the game the way I’ve been playing it over the years, and these things have just happened organically by just going out and just playing the game the right way. “Just to be part of this league the many years I’ve been a part of it and being linked to some of the greatest who’ve ever played this game and guys I’ve ever watched or studied or read about or aspired to be like … I’m just always lost for words for it. “Guys that just took care of their bodies for the majority of their career and always wanted to be available to their teammates,” he said, per ESPN. “The most important leadership [trait] for you is to try to be available as much as possible on the floor. LA is now 31-40 and just a half-game ahead of the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference. After the next whistle, the Washington crowd gave LeBron a standing ovation to acknowledge his accomplishment.

LeBron James has his sights set on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as he passed Karl Malone for No. 2 on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

… I hope to accomplish that at some point in my career, but I won't think about it too much." "I will not allow myself to think about it. "It's an honor for myself, my hometown, my family and my friends to be able to live these moments throughout this journey."

Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has scored more points in the league than James.

"I've always just played the game the way I've been playing it over the years, and these things have just happened organically by just going out and just playing the game the right way. As long as he remains relatively healthy and doesn't abruptly retire, it's almost a certainty that he will indeed eventually claim the top spot. Malone scored 36,909 points over the course of his career.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James reflected on passing Karl Malone for No. 2 on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Despite the losing, James remains even-keeled and seems comfortable in the uncomfortableness of the situation. “It’s an honor for myself, for my hometown, and for family and my friends to be able to live these moments throughout this journey, and that’s exactly what I do it for. Los Angeles led Washington by as much as 16 but fell apart in the fourth quarter, where they had no answer for Kristaps Porzingis.

With 36,947 points, James trails only former Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the career scoring list. Abdul-Jabbar's record stands at 38,387 points. "Just ...

I think myself and him, we always just tried to be in uniform and make plays and stay in condition and try to stay healthy, stay injury-free as much as you can and also be productive on the floor. "I've always just played the game the way I've been playing it over the years, and these things have just happened organically by just going out and just playing the game the right way. Now to have the chance to be the No. 1 all-time scorer in the history of the NBA, somebody who been doing it for 19 seasons at an all-time high, and somebody who just embraced the moment. The most important leadership [trait] for you is to try to be available as much as possible on the floor. "Just to be part of this league the many years I've been a part of it and being linked to some of the greatest who've ever played this game and guys I've ever watched or studied or read about or aspired to be like ... I'm just always lost for words for it," James said. And that's exactly who I do it for."

Saturday in Washington, it was a thundering dunk, a driving layup, a handful of threes and, finally, a cutting layup that pushed James up the NBA's all-time ...