Our discouraging reintroduction to the Los Angeles Lakers, who missed the play-in tournament last season and looked no better in Tuesday's opener, may well mean the highlight of their 2022-23 campaign is LeBron James' pursuit of the career scoring record Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set in 1984 and lifted to 38,387 points.
James currently trails Abdul-Jabbar's NBA record by 1,294 points. The 37-year-old eclipsed that number last season on March 3, so Lakers fans must hope their favorite team gives them better reasons to watch in the meantime. At the very least, James could reach several other milestones before catching Abdul-Jabbar.