The NBA has added the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans to their national television slate, as LeBron James is just 89 points away from surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader.
The game has been moved up two hours to a 6 p.m. Eastern start and will be aired on ESPN2, preceding the Dallas-Golden State game at 8:30 p.m. on ABC. LeBron James needs only 89 points to achieve this milestone and could potentially reach it by Thursday when the Lakers play the Indiana Pacers.
Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner, voiced his thoughts on the potential record-breaking game of James last month in Paris. He stated the league should ensure the game is available globally if he is close to the points record. James is currently averaging 30.2 points per game and it is likely his record-breaking game will occur on Tuesday when the Lakers play Oklahoma City, provided he does not miss any games in the interim. At the time, the NBA did not divulge if or how the Lakers-Thunder game will be nationally televised. Nevertheless, TNT is set to broadcast two games that night – Atlanta at New Orleans and Minnesota at Denver.
On Feb. 7 James will have the chance to set a new record when the Lakers face off against Milwaukee, the team with which Abdul-Jabbar launched his career. If that happens the game will be broadcast live on TNT. James currently has 38,299 points in his 20-season career and is just shy of Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387.