LeBron James added another line to a résumé that already sits alone in basketball history.
During Thursday night’s game, James became the NBA’s all-time leader in made field goals, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with his 15,838th made shot, per Yahoo. The basket looked familiar too, a controlled fadeaway that echoed the kind of shot fans remember from the night he passed Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time scoring list.
At 41, James continues to handle a workload that most stars half his age would welcome. He still creates offense, still dictates tempo, and still reaches milestones that once looked untouchable.
That latest achievement also revived a criticism that has followed him through recent seasons, the idea that he keeps playing mainly to collect records. Former teammate Richard Jefferson does not buy that argument.
With this fadeaway, LeBron James (15,838) passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15,837) for the most made regular season FGs in NBA history: pic.twitter.com/XlVVVh2bEF
— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) March 6, 2026
Jefferson says LeBron’s longevity cannot be manufactured
Speaking on Road Trippin’, Jefferson dismissed the idea that James simply decided late in his career to hunt numbers.
“You can’t chase 22 years of 25 points a game, you can’t chase that,” Jefferson said. “You can’t be like, you know what, I’ve always wanted to be faster than Usain Bolt, certain things you just can’t chase. You got to have the ability to do things and then we’re kinda watching it, and you’re like, oh sh*t dude might be able to do something.”
Jefferson’s point centered on the scale of what James has built. Records like this do not come from hanging around. They come from two decades of elite production, durability, and constant adaptation.
James entered the league as a teenager and never stopped evolving. He changed roles, adjusted his body, expanded his skill set, and kept scoring through every era thrown at him.
That is why milestones keep arriving.
The field goal record joins a growing list that already includes the all-time scoring mark, and James now sits close to another major milestone, becoming the league’s all-time leader in games played.
Even critics who debate where he belongs in all-time rankings have little room to argue with the volume of what continues to happen in real time.
Every season now seems to bring another reminder that the final chapter of James’ career still refuses to look ordinary.



















