LeBron James created one of the most iconic moments in NBA history when he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s legendary record to become the league’s all-time leading scorer. After two decades, The King finally stood alone atop the mountain and continues to do so. As for who might break his record, James has said that only Kevin Durant could do it. Say that to Robert Horry, though, and he would scoff.
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Durant, who joined the Houston Rockets in the summer, sits 8th on the all-time scoring list heading into the 2025/26 campaign. It may seem like he is still a long way off, but Durant has been steadily climbing year after year. Back in 2023, he was only 14th, which shows just how far he has come.
Durant is widely regarded as one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, which makes this milestone fitting for him. Yet Robert Horry, a seven-time champion, explained on the Big Shot Bob podcast why the former Golden State Warriors star will always rank behind James in that category.
“Think about it. You got to average 25 points for 20 years. That’s putting it on the low. How many players gonna play 20 years?” asked Horry. “Let’s look at Chris Paul, who is a great scorer, but as he got long in the tooth, his scoring kind of diminished. Did LeBron’s scoring diminish?”
Few athletes in history have stayed as physically agile in their 40s as James. Not only has he refused to slow down, but his ability to score from all areas of the floor has only grown stronger.
“You got to have the body type LeBron has, who can play like a guard and play like a big. How many players out there do we know outside of KD, who I don’t see him playing for five more years?” stated Horry. When his co-host pushed back and claimed that Durant could still play another five, he had a response loaded.
“Yeah, but in those three, four, or five years, LeBron’s gonna play three of those too!” he insisted. There is no guarantee LeBron lasts another two seasons, let alone three. And with Durant now 36, it is hard to imagine him playing much longer once the King finally hangs it up.
The question then became: who could possibly pass LeBron? Horry had one name in mind, though not for the reason most would expect.
“Wemby? Is it Wemby?” Horry asked before clarifying that it’s not necessarily the big Frenchman’s game, but how old he is. “That’s the only player that you think about that’s young enough. And he missed all those points of last season.”
After pulling out their stats, the group figured out that Wemby only averaged 22 points per game in his first two seasons, well behind the pace that James set. “Now, the next guy that we might think we can catch him is probably Cooper Flagg coming in at 19, and he’s not averaging 25,” added Horry about the No. 1 pick of the 2025 Draft.
“In order to catch LeBron, they’ve got to be some phenom that comes in at 20 years old and is just kicking a**,” he stated. That’s about the size of it. This immaculate record will remain untouched for quite some time because there has never been a player like James. The man may not have as many rings as Magic, MJ, or Kareem, but he truly is the best.
At least the best in terms of putting the rock in the bucket. The way he’s added the three-ball to his arsenal over the last few seasons has certainly helped, but keeping his body in such tip-top shape deserves a Hall of Fame induction all on its own. Enjoy him while we have him, fam. There will never be another LeBron James.
