LeBron James’ scoring record is a testament to his longevity

LeBron James is now the NBA’s all-time scoring king, as he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Tuesday night to move into first place in career points.

It is an amazing accomplishment, especially when one looks at it from all angles.

Although James has a career scoring average of 27.2 points per game and is putting up 30.2 points a contest this season, some do not consider him to be a pure scorer.

In terms of scoring, several of the other all-time greats on James’ level were more skilled than him. Michael Jordan was a powerful finisher and had his trademark fadeaway jumper, Kobe Bryant could do it all, Larry Bird was a lethal shooter who also had a killer fadeaway shot and Abdul-Jabbar had the skyhook, the greatest single shot or move in league history.

But James had surpassed them all in career points, and he has done so because he has also surpassed everyone in the longevity department.

He is still playing at an incredible level in his 20th season and at age 38, despite an insane amount of wear and tear that has resulted from 10 trips to the NBA Finals. Abdul-Jabbar won a championship series MVP at the same age, but his overall level of play wasn’t quite where James’ production is now.

The Akron, Ohio native has made it happen with a total commitment to his physical fitness and wellness. He reportedly spends over $1 million a year to keep his body right and has taken full advantage of the wonders of modern medical science.

All year long, he is diligent about the various aspects of his health and fitness to make sure he maintains as much of his abilities as possible, despite his advanced age and mileage.

While some NBA and NFL players spend their offseasons eating, drinking and being merry, James is in the “lab” making sure he gets the absolute most from his body.

It’s one thing for him to be one of the two to three greatest physical specimens in NBA history, but it’s another thing entirely for him to still be one of the league’s most physically gifted players in his 20th season.

James has shown everyone how well someone can age like, well, fine wine, while looking and feeling much younger than their age simply by being committed to physical fitness, a good diet and at least eight or nine hours of sleep a night.