Nearly 40 years after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James took over the throne Tuesday.
To mark the accomplishment, The Athletic took a look at the other scoring leaders across the major North American sports leagues. This is not intended to be a deep-dive into the exact comp for James in other sports, but rather, a jumping-off point for discussion about what makes an all-time great and recognizing how long the biggest names in sports can endure.
WNBA
Diana Taurasi became the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer in 2017, surpassing Tina Thompson’s previous record of 7,488 points. Taurasi did so in just 13 seasons compared to Thompson’s 17. In 2021, the then 39-year-old Taurasi reached 9,000 career points, and last year, she became the first WNBA player to score 30 points in a single game at age 30 or older.
Taurasi — a free agent this offseason after spending the first 18 years of her career with Phoenix — sits at 9,693 points.
What makes Taurasi so dominant
Sabreena Merchant, women’s basketball writer: Taurasi has always had the temperament of a scorer. A shooting guard in the truest sense of the word, she earned the moniker The White Mamba (from Kobe Bryant himself) because of her desire to get buckets….
