The arena sound tightened in the first quarter as lebron rose into a fadeaway he has shaped over decades. The shot fell against the Denver Nuggets, and in that instant the Los Angeles Lakers star became the NBA’s all-time leader in career field goals made—one more milestone in a career that has spent 23 seasons stretching the sport’s record book.
How did Lebron become the NBA’s all-time leader in field goals made?
On Thursday night (ET), LeBron James set the record in the first quarter against Denver with a fadeaway shot. By the end of the night, his career field goals made total stood at 15, 842, moving him past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who finished his 20-year NBA career with 15, 837 made field goals—most of them with the Lakers.
The record adds to a growing list of categories in which James has moved ahead of Abdul-Jabbar. He has already passed him in minutes, field goals attempted, and points scored.
What happened after the record—was the elbow injury serious?
The night carried a jolt of uncertainty in the fourth quarter when James went down with an apparent elbow injury. For a few minutes, the game’s mood shifted from celebration to concern. It turned out not to be serious, and he returned minutes later.
James finished with 16 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. The Lakers, though, lost 120-113 to the Nuggets, a result that snapped a three-game win streak even as the record was secured.
Why does this milestone matter, even in a loss?
Records can land with fireworks or with a single quiet possession that looks like any other—until the scoreboard confirms it meant something permanent. This one came on a familiar kind of shot, a fadeaway, and it put James alone at the top of a core measure of sustained scoring: turning attempts into points through made field goals, season after season.
The moment also echoed an earlier landmark. James set the points record in 2023 during a 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, hitting the historic shot on a fadeaway at the end of the third quarter without needing the entire game to do it. Thursday’s achievement followed that same pattern: history arriving inside the ordinary flow of a game that did not end in celebration.
Over his 23-year career—an NBA record—James has compiled a résumé that includes being a 22-time All-Star, making 21 All-NBA teams, earning six All Defensive team honors, winning the 2007-08 scoring title, taking 2003-04 Rookie of the Year, and winning four NBA championships. His legacy as a future Hall of Famer was secured long ago, yet the milestones keep arriving.
What comes next for lebron as records keep falling?
James has not definitively announced retirement plans. With his contract expiring at the end of the 2025-26 season, some believed he could stop after this year. No announcement has come, leaving open the possibility of a return for a 24th season.
For now, he continues to produce. This season with the Lakers, James is averaging 21. 6 points, 7 assists, and 5. 6 rebounds per game. Before the 2025-26 season ends, it is described as very likely that he will also hold the record for most games played in NBA history.
In the league’s long argument over greatness, James is described as either the first- or second-best player of all time, with Michael Jordan the only other player presented as having an argument for the top spot. The field goals record does not settle that debate. What it does is add one more piece of evidence to a simpler claim: no player in league history has been this good for this long.
Who sits behind him on the all-time field goals made list?
Thursday’s record also reorders a list filled with iconic names. After James and Abdul-Jabbar, the top 10 in career field goals made stands as:
- LeBron James — 15, 842
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — 15, 837
- Karl Malone — 13, 528
- Wilt Chamberlain — 12, 681
- Michael Jordan — 12, 192
- Kobe Bryant — 11, 719
- Shaquille O’Neal — 11, 330
- Dirk Nowitzki — 11, 169
- Kevin Durant — 11, 075
- Elvin Hayes — 10, 976
There is a human story inside that ranking: not just brilliance, but time—seasons stacked without collapse, year after year of turning possessions into points. On Thursday, that story ran through one fadeaway in the first quarter, then through a brief fourth-quarter scare, and ended in a loss that did not erase what the shot meant. The next question—whether lebron chooses to keep adding to the list beyond the 2025-26 season—remains unanswered.
