Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held the NBA's all-time scoring record for 39 years — from April 5, 1984, when he passed Oscar Robertson with 26,532 career points, until February 7, 2023, when LeBron James passed his 38,387. No record in major American professional sports has stood longer. The durability of that number reflects the career that produced it: 20 seasons, across two franchises, maintained at All-Star level into his early forties.

The skyhook is the reason the record is what it is. Abdul-Jabbar's signature shot — released from the right side of the lane, arm extended above any realistic defensive contest, wrist rotating the ball on a high arc toward the basket — is widely regarded as the most unblockable shot in basketball history. He developed it at UCLA under coach John Wooden, refined it in Milwaukee with the Bucks, and deployed it 1,074 times more than his closest competitor. Defenders knew it was coming and could not stop it.

His six MVP awards span thirteen seasons and remain the most in NBA history, as do his 19 All-Star selections. The championship record includes one title with Milwaukee in 1971 and five with the Los Angeles Lakers — in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988 — giving him a championship presence across three different decades. The 1979-80 season, his age-33 year, produced 24.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game on 60.4 percent shooting — numbers his younger contemporaries could not match.

He graduated from UCLA, where he led the Bruins to three national championships, and played professional basketball for 20 seasons without missing the All-Star Game until he was 40 years old.