Is LeBron James the confirmed GOAT when he breaks the basketball all-time scoring record?

LeBron James is gearing up for year 21 in the NBA this season and is in line to break another long-standing scoring record.

The highlight of James' year 20 was breaking Kareem Abdul Jabbar's all-time NBA points record, a record he held since 1984.

James questioned whether he would play in the NBA after being swept by the Denver Nuggets in the NBA playoffs, but this year, he has the chance to break basketball's all-time scoring record.

'The King' finds himself 2,004 points behind Brazilian basketball legend Oscar Schmidt, who scored 49,737 points over a 29-year professional career.

Throughout his basketball career, LeBron has amassed 47,734 points, including three Olympics, FIBA World Cups, and his illustrious NBA career.

To beat the record this season, James will have to average 26.7 points per game across 75 games. James hasn't dropped below 25PPG since his rookie year.

Being in the process of breaking yet another basketball record is a testament to the longevity and success of the masterpiece James has created over the last 20 years.

With his constant pursuit of greatness and potentially breaking the only record that legitimately stands in the way, LeBron's greatest of all-time case must be confirmed after this season.

He and Michael Jordan have been constantly compared throughout their careers, but LeBron's points volume compared to MJ is on another level.

LeBron passed Jordan in NBA points in 2019, surpassing Jordan's total of 32,292 points with 31 points in a loss to Denver.

James has used Jordan as his inspiration ever since he came into the league, wearing his famous 23 jersey for the majority of his career.

However, with James seemingly still at his best and still one of the premier players in the league, it's not hard to imagine that James could potentially score 50 or 60,000 points in his career.

James' situation at the Los Angeles Lakers has given fans more promise than ever before that he will continue to play, with The Lakers bringing in some superstar players to manage the load for James.

The case for Jordan is that despite the volume of points James has scored in his career, Jordan's averages in the playoffs and regular season are better, with Jordan averaging three and five points more than James in each category.

The argument that Jordan was better than James if you look at their careers from a point average perspective is valid, but James' overall play and sheer quality over a long period must put him in a different bracket.

If James breaks the basketball all-time points record and passes Oscar Schmidt, does he have to be considered the GOAT?