Giannis Antetokounmpo Believes That He'll Surpass LeBron James As The NBA's All-Time Leading Scorer

At this point, there’s virtually zero argument that Giannis Antetokounmpo will join the Basketball Hall of Fame one day. As exalted as his accomplishments have been, the Greek Freak isn’t done with his pursuit of lofty NBA goals.

What could be more ambitious than the title of the NBA's all-time leading scorer? For Antetokounmpo, this goal isn't out of reach at all; on the contrary, the Milwaukee Bucks superstar views it as an eventual feat.

"I think getting to the top of the scoring list is not six, seven, or eight years away," he told reporters after the Bucks defeated the Brooklyn Nets 116–99 on Saturday. "In my opinion, I think it's four years away. Four or five years away."

Antetokounmpo’s pronouncement was clearly buoyed by an abundance of confidence. After all, he’d just crossed the 21,000-point threshold, becoming the sixth-youngest player to do so in NBA history. In his mind, overtaking LeBron James (who currently has over 42,000 career points) to claim the league’s all-time scoring title isn’t a far-fetched thought.

“I think, when I’m going to be 35 years old and sitting in this chair, I want to have a discussion of, I am in the top list of all-time in scoring,” the two-time MVP added. “I would have talked that into existence, and not just talk that into existence, because I believe that I'm going to do it. It's something that I want to do.”

The question is, does Antetokounmpo have a real shot? Or is his math somehow off?

Here's what the numbers show: Over the past four seasons, Antetokounmpo has played 67.5 regular-season games on average. If his availability over the next five seasons follows this trend and he continues to average 30 points per game, he'll be upwards of 31,000 career points at the end of the 2030–31 season.

It’s plausible, however, that James will play at least two more seasons in the NBA. With a conservative estimate of 20 points per outing and 70 games played in each of those seasons, LBJ could finish his storied NBA career in the ballpark of 45,000 points.

Antetokounmpo, then, will have to play into his 40s to come close to dethroning the King. Either that, or he’ll have to average 40 points a night over the next several years. Ultimately, whether or not the former Finals MVP climbs this Everest, his legacy as one of the NBA’s most decorated athletes is already cemented.