This Day In Lakers History: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Reaches 25,000 Career Points Milestone

12/21/2022 12:00 PM

While there will always be an argument over who is the greatest player in the history of the NBA, there is no question as to who is the best scorer this game has ever seen. That belongs to Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. To this day, he remains far and away the league’s all-time leading scorer. The closest player to Abdul-Jabbar is Karl Malone, who is nearly 1,500 points behind. No one else is within 2,500 points of Abdul-Jabbar. During the 1980-81 season, Kareem was still in his prime. Fresh off a regular season MVP Award and an NBA Championship the previous year, in which some argue his performance in the first five games was enough for the NBA Finals MVP, Kareem was still a dominant force. On Dec. 21, 1980, Kareem was again unstoppable, scoring 42 points and leading the Lakers to a 135-122 win over the San Antonio Spurs. In doing so, Abdul-Jabbar became just the fifth player in NBA history to score a minimum of 25,000 points. He joined Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek and Jerry West. With Magic Johnson out at the time because of a knee injury, the offensive burden fell to Kareem and he was more than capable of handling it. He averaged 26.2 points per game that season and would continue to be a 20-point-per-game scorer for another five years. It is a shame that Kareem can sometimes be forgotten about when talking about the greatest players of all-time. He has six NBA Championships, six MVP Awards, two NBA Finals MVPs, and 15 All-NBA Team selections. His lasting legacy however, will forever be his legendary scoring prowess. The sky hook remains the most unstoppable shot in NBA history and on this night, Kareem continued to cement his legacy. Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!