Legendary Moments in NBA History

Legendary Moments In NBA History: Abdul-Jabbar reaches 30,000 career points

Heading into the 1983-84 season, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was on the cusp of history. Eleven games into that season, he accomplished a feat that, until that point, had only been done by one other player: Wilt Chamberlain.

On Nov. 19, 1983, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored his 30,000th career point in a win vs. Portland. He reached 30,000 points on a pair of free throws in the third quarter, becoming the second player ever to reach 30,000 points.

Abdul-Jabbar needed 13 points to join Chamberlain as the only players to reach the 30,000 mark. Abdul-Jabbar finished with 20. He had 11 points in the first quarter, but he missed his only shot in the second period and had three more misses before he was fouled by Darnell Valentine. Chamberlain was the career scoring leader with 31,419 points in 14 seasons, a mark Abdul-Jabbar would eventually surpass.

To date, seven players (Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James) have scored 30,000-plus points in their careers.

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