LeBron James Surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for Another All-Time NBA Record

Here's numerical proof of the King's longevity.

LeBron James during the Lakers' 116–110 win over the Grizzlies on Dec. 15, 2024. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has been around for a long, long, long time. In a sense, it seems hard to believe he was ever young.

On Thursday, he set the NBA record to prove it.

James is now the NBA's all-time leader in minutes played, having broken Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's mark Thursday during the Lakers' game against the Sacramento Kings.

Abdul-Jabbar played 57,446 minutes during his illustrious career; James has now played 57,447 and counting. That is over 957 hours of basketball—a little under 40 days' worth, which equates to approximately 0.3% of James's life.

That’s a lot of minutes, LeBron. 👑 pic.twitter.com/jhn5VX96iA

— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) December 20, 2024

Hall of Fame forwards Karl Malone, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett round out the top five.

James, who will turn 40 on Dec. 30, broke Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record on Feb. 7, 2023.

The elder statesman continues to operate at a high level, averaging 22.8 points, eight rebounds and 9.1 assists per game this season.

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