Robert Horry reveals that Kareem Abdul Jabbar won't take it well when LeBron James breaks his all-time scoring record
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & LeBron James
© Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports/© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
As of writing, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is just 260 points shy of dethroning Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the NBA's all-time scoring list. James, who currently has 38,137 points, is expected to pass the Lakers legend sometime around early February, and the time is fast approaching; many are wondering whether Kareem will be in attendance when the moment happens.
While nobody knows whether or not Kareem will make an appearance, former players like Robert Horry believe that the 6-time champion won't take James' impressive accomplishment well. According to Horry, it's because James is wearing the same jersey as Kareem did when he orchestrated the best years of his career.
"I don't think well. If I gotta say, we gotta be honest and the fact is that it's a dude playing for the Lakers too. It's a dude playing in LA. I think it'll be a hard pill to swallow," Horry said in the latest episode of the "Big Shot Bob" podcast.
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Horry says Kareem has every right not to attend the game
Horry isn't the first one to say that Kareem won't take it well when James surpasses him on the All-time scoring list. In fact, Kareem's teammate and co-star Magic Johnson also said last October that the legendary big man wouldn't be happy to witness the moment because, just like what Horry said, James will be wearing a Lakers jersey. Horry mentioned that he understands what Kareem is feeling and that he wouldn't blame him if he didn't show up for James' remarkable moment.
"People always say records are made to be broken. That's bullsh*t. Everybody say that ain't got no damn record. You don't want your record to be broken. You wanna be No. 1 all-time in that situation, so, if someone's about to break my record, you think Imma go sit up in the f**king stands and watch him break my record and be p**sed off? No," Horry added.
What does Kareem really feel about it?
When the current NBA All-time leading scorer was asked in an interview with ESPN back in August 2022 how he felt about The King passing him in the scoring list, Kareem had nothing but nice words and praises to say for James. Kareem said that this moment is a testament to James' greatness and that the latter dethroning him only means that the game has significantly improved from where it was during Kareem's time.
"If LeBron breaks the record and it looks like he has every reason to break it then I'll be very happy for him. The game always improves when records like that are broken so LeBron should enjoy his achievement. He's worked very hard to get this far, and for him, he'll get to see who might be lucky enough to break his record if that's going to happen. It's always about passing it to the next guy in line," Kareem said.
Only time will tell if Kareem shows up to witness James pass him in the scoring list. But at the very least, it seems that the skyhook legend is at pace, knowing that the record he's held for 40 years will soon be broken — despite Horry and Johnson thinking that Kareem won't take this moment very well.
