LeBron James Passes Allen Iverson on NBA's All-Time Scoring List

LeBron James is already one of the all-time greats, but he solidified his status as one of the best pure scorers in NBA history Sunday by surpassing Allen Iverson on the career scoring list.

The NBA's Twitter feed confirmed the news.

James would later address the accomplishment via his Instagram account:

Iverson himself would also congratulate the Cavs star on his Twitter account:

King James accomplished the feat in a matinee against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. He is now 22nd all time in points after topping Iverson's impressive total of 24,368.

It looked as though the Cleveland Cavaliers star was on his way to supplanting AI on Friday night in a blowout victory over the Washington Wizards, as he entered that contest 31 points behind the Philadelphia 76ers legend, according to NBA TV on Twitter:

LeBron dropped an impressive 28 points in 25 minutes, but he was lifted from the game early in the fourth quarter with the Cavs in complete control.

James moving past Iverson was inevitable, though, and he did so not even two minutes into Sunday's contest. The 30-year-old superstar has averaged over 20 points per game in each of his 12 NBA seasons. In fact, he has averaged at least 26 points per game in every season but his rookie campaign.

LeBron's scoring is down slightly this year in his return to Cleveland, but there is no question that the 11-time All-Star and four-time MVP can still fill it up with the best of them.

With that said, the fact that James has already overtaken Iverson on the scoring list is enough to make any NBA fan do a double take.

As Michael Lee of The Washington Post pointed out, it certainly didn't take LeBron very long:

Iverson was one of the most explosive scorers the NBA has ever seen, with a career average of 26.7 points per tilt. The diminutive guard defied the odds, which is something James admires.

According to ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh, LeBron told Chris Broussard in a 2013 ESPN The Magazine interview that Iverson was among his all-time favorites:

"

I watch Jordan more than anybody for sure. But I'll watch tapes of AI, too. I don't take anything from AI. Well, I do—his will. They say he was 6 feet, but AI was like 5'10" and a half. Do we even want to say 160? 170 (pounds)? Do we even want to give him that much weight? And he played like a 6'8" 2-guard. He was one of the greatest finishers we've ever seen. You could never question his heart. Ever. He gave it his all. AI was like my second-favorite player growing up, after MJ.

"

It is obvious that James has a great deal of admiration for the 2000-01 NBA MVP. While making history may seem like old hat for him on most nights, one can only assume that topping Iverson on the scoring list truly resonates with LeBron.

James will undoubtedly pass many more big names on that list in the coming years, but Iverson ranks right up there with any of them.

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