LeBron James favored to break NBA scoring record against Bucks next Thursday

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King James is about to be crowned the king of NBA scorers. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is closing in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA career scoring mark of 38,387 points. James, who is taking the court on the road Thursday to face the Indiana Pacers, is 89 points away from overtaking Kareem.

When will LeBron ascend to the NBA scoring throne? That’s the subject of an NBA prop bet on offer from DraftKings Sportsbook. In fact, there are a series of prop wagers written specifically around dealing with events and outcomes from LeBron’s pursuit of Kareem.

Expectations are that James will be overtaking Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday, February 9 on home court at Crypto.com Arena. Oddly enough, that game will see the Lakers playing host to the Milwaukee Bucks - Kareem’s original NBA team prior to joining the Lakers.

Oddsmakers are setting that Milwaukee game as the +110 betting favorite to be the decisive game in LeBron’s pursuit of the record. Along with it being against Abdul-Jabbar’s first NBA team, it also means James will be facing two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks. LeBron and Giannis will also be the opposing captains in this year’s NBA All-Star Game.

James has three games on his docket before getting to that home tilt against the Bucks. Along with Thursday’s game at Indiana against the Pacers, the Lakers travel to New Orleans on Saturday to face the Pelicans.

LA begins a two-game homestead on Feb. 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That game is the second choice in this betting market at odds of +140. Bettors can get odds of +3000 that James will ascend to the throne in New Orleans, but to do that, he’d need to average 45 points over the next two games.

Amazingly, the bookmakers are offering +50000 odds that James breaks the record on Thursday in Indiana. To accomplish that feat, James would need to come close to emulating the NBA-record 100-point game posted by Wilt Chamberlain on March 2, 1962. Former Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, with 81 points, has scored the second-most points in a single NBA game, so maybe hold off on making this bet.

A Feb. 23 game at Golden State is third in this betting line at +300. Should you be thinking that the pressure of pursuing the record might make an impact on James, the Feb. 13 game at Portland is offering odds of +950. A Feb. 15 home game vs. the Pelicans is set at +2500, while a Feb. 26 contest at Dallas is going at +10000. Finally, there’s +2000 odds that James sets the mark Feb. 28 at Memphis, or later.

James is averaging 30.2 points per game this season. If he holds that pace over the next three games, then he’ll break the record against Oklahoma City. He’d need to average at least 29.66 points per game over the next three games to be bringing down Kareem against the Thunder. Well, it just so happens that in his last three games, James has scored exactly 89 points - an average of 29.66 points per game.

Over his past 23 games, there’s only been one three-game segment in which LeBron didn’t score at least 89 points.

Pick: Oklahoma City Thunder (Feb. 7) +140.

LeBron is living proof that to the steady goes the race. Over his 20-season NBA career, James has led the NBA in scoring once. He averaged a league-leading 30.0 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007-08. His career-best 31.4 points per game was set with the Cavs in 2005-06.

He’s averaged 30 or more points in just four seasons, but interestingly, at the age of 38, he’s on pace to do it for the second consecutive season. LeBron is currently averaging 30.2 points per game. He hit for 30.3 per game last season.

Abdul-Jabbar twice was NBA scoring leader, in his second and third season in the league, and both with the Bucks. Like James, he went over 30 points in four of 20 NBA season. But Kareem finished with three straight seasons of 17.5 points per game or less. Other than his 20.9 average as an NBA rookie straight out of high school with Cleveland in 2003-04. James has never averaged lower then 25 points per game in a single season.

Two other props associated with King James’ race to ascend to NBA scoring royalty cover where and how he’ll do the deed.

Breaking the record at home is the -340 odds-on favorite. Considering that he’ll have a home game before facing Milwaukee, this bet seems like a lock. He’d either need to go off over the next two games, or go into a prolonged slump for the +240 wager on the record basket dropping on the road to come into play.

As for how it will happen, oddsmakers are setting a two-point field goal as the -150 chalk. Draining a 3-pointer from beyond the arc is set at +240. That the record will fall via a free throw is given odds of +370.

If the record is to be broken against Milwaukee, it will be early into the game. If it’s against Oklahoma City, it’s almost certainly going to be on a late-game basket. If the game is closely contested, there’s a realistic chance of it happening that LeBron is fouled while driving to the hoop.

For a small stake, it’s worth taking a flyer on this outcome. Grab the price on the free throw being the record-breaking basket.

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