On January 16, LeBron James became only the second player in the history of the NBA to hit 38,000 career points. The Lakers forward needed only points versus the Philadelphia 76ers to break the mark, but went on to make 35.

On the following game day, LeBron saw his career point tally improve with his 48-point performance against the Houston Rockets – pushing his tally to 38,072, leaving him 315 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

So how long till LeBron unseats the former Lakers centre as all-time scorer of the franchise?

In his last five games for the Lakers, LeBron has contributed to 26% of their game points, totaling 169 points and averaging 29.7 points per game this season.

However, his career total of 38,027 points means he has a career average of 27.2 points per game. On April 5, 1984 when Abdul-Jabbar surpassed Wilt Chamberlain, with his trademark skyhook shot versus the Utah Jazz, to become the franchise’s all-time scorer, it will take another eight months for LeBron’s birth.

However, he currently needs 316 points to surpass a record which has been standing for some 40 years, and his career average of 27.2 means he will need 11 games to become the franchise’s all-time scorer.

Meaning, the Oklahoma City Thunder just like the Utah Jazz in 1985, could be locked in ‘forever’ in NBA history.

Plot twist?

Despite his career average of 27.2, LeBron’s aforementioned season average of 29.2 points per game suggests he could upstage Abdul-Jabbar even before the home game versus OKC. Yet still, with LeBron being 38, it could mean Darvin Ham rests the four-time NBA champion in some games, consequently affecting the ’11-game window’.