LeBron James became the NBA's all-time leader in regular-season field goals made, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's mark of 15,837 during the Los Angeles Lakers' 120-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets on March 6, 2026. The 41-year-old forward hit the record with a first-quarter jumper, scoring 16 points amid an elbow injury and post-game reflections overshadowed by the defeat.
On Thursday, March 6, 2026, at Ball Arena in Denver, LeBron James etched another NBA milestone in his 23rd season, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 15,837 career field goals. With 12 seconds left in the first quarter, James sank a 12-foot turnaround jumper over Zeke Nnaji for his 15,838th make, contributing 16 points in the Lakers' 120-113 loss.
This follows James breaking Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record in February 2023 and reaching 50,000 combined regular-season and playoff points last year (43,127 regular-season). Entering the game, James had attempted 31,274 field goals—including over 7,500 threes—at 51.6% efficiency, compared to Abdul-Jabbar's 28,307 attempts (just 18 threes) at 55.9% over 20 seasons, mostly with the Lakers until 1989.
Lakers coach JJ Redick likened James' longevity to Bruce Springsteen pre-tipoff: "LeBron’s greatest hits—he just keeps adding to them. He just plays and plays and plays." Post-game, James reflected humbly: "Being mentioned with some of the greatest... it's a pretty cool feat, but it's hard for me to wrap my head around it." He added the loss and elbow injury overshadowed the moment: "All I feel is my elbow and the loss."
The game was James' 1,606th regular-season appearance, five shy of Robert Parish's record. Averaging 21.6 points, 7 assists, and 5.6 rebounds this season, the 22-time All-Star and four-time champion has not decided on next season amid an expiring contract. Karl Malone ranks third with 13,528 field goals.
For Denver, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray scored 28 points each, powering outside shooting to hold fifth in the West, one spot above the shorthanded Lakers.
