LeBron James is over the moon right now, at the top of the scoring charts. Currently sitting at 38,390 points, he is 3 points over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The points gap will grow, and there is every possibility LeBron James will be the first person to score 40,000 NBA points in the regular season.
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Once that threshold is crossed, there is a chance that nobody in the current crop of superstars will be able to break it. Maybe until the advent of the 4-point line, that is. Records are meant to be broken, but there needs to be a rule change for anyone to catch up to Bron.
But LeBron James himself still has some catching up to do, despite breaking the record only a day ago. Oscar Schmidt, a Brazilian legend and pro basketball player who played for 30 years, currently sits at the top of the international summit. Schmidt has a total of 49,737 points in his career, which also includes 1093 points in the Olympics.
Oscar Schmidt is a Brazilian Baller who sits atop the scoring chart worldwide
This record isn’t like Pele claiming he has more goals each time Messi or Ronaldo came close to breaking his record. No, Oscar Schmidt has legitimate stakes to claim. He played his whole career outside of the NBA, a choice that was forced on him for one reason.
Until 1989, NBA players could not represent their country, which meant that Oscar would have to give up his Brazil squad position. He had already played 10 years with them; he was not going to give that up. Plus, he made less money in the NBA as a New Jersey Net than in Italy, so it was a no-brainer.
Not every great basketball player has to play in the NBA—just look at the Real Madrid and Barcelona players. Schmidt is the undisputed king of endurance, having played for an unprecedented 30 years.
How much does LeBron James need to break the all-time international scoring record?
2715 points. That is the golden number Bron will have to score to equal the record that still stands to this day. Here is a simple breakdown of the Duo’s points, and a projected analysis of when this feat might be achieved.
Oscar Schmidt:
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Club games total points: 42,044
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Brazilian national team: 7,694 (including the Olympic record of 1,093 points)
LeBron James:
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Regular season: 38,390
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Playoff: 7,631
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Play-in: 22
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USA Basketball: 979
The difference between their international career is staggering! Although the opportunities to play for the National teams now are much lesser than playing for the clubs.
If the lakers star can maintain his current scoring trends, the record will topple in 2 seasons’ time. That’s not too far away, considering how quickly 2 years go by. This record, however, will not be as celebrated as the one just broken but should be celebrated nonetheless.
