Magic Johnson: Kareem Won't Handle It Well When LeBron James Breaks Scoring Record

Magic Johnson does not think Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be thrilled when LeBron James passes the Los Angeles Lakers legend as the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

"I don't think [he'll handle it] well," Johnson said on the Club Shay Shay podcast. "Let's just be honest. If I got to say it, we got to be honest. And the fact that it's a dude playing for the Lakers too. It's a dude playing in L.A. I think it'll be a hard pill to swallow. ... I think he thought he was going to have [the record] forever."

Abdul-Jabbar and James have a contentious relationship that dates back to at least when the Hall of Famer criticized LeBron for posting a meme that downplayed the severity of COVID-19. In an essay posted to his Substack, Abdul-Jabbar said James "encouraged vaccine hesitancy, which puts lives and livelihoods at risk."

In April, Abdul-Jabbar again lobbed criticism at James, saying "some of the things he's done, he should be embarrassed about," though he did not go into specifics.

"Some of the things he's done and said are really beneath him, as far as I can see," Abdul-Jabbar told reporters. "Some of the great things that he's done, he's standing on both sides of the fence almost, you know? It makes it hard for me to accept that when he's committed himself to a different take on everything. It's hard to figure out where he's standing. You've got to check him out every time."

Abdul-Jabbar also said: "His thoughtfulness and willingness to back it up with his wallet, you got to give him credit for that. So I'm not throwing stones."

The six-time NBA champion and six-time MVP apologized a day later.

When asked earlier this month if he had any thoughts about Abdul-Jabbar and whether he had a relationship with the 75-year-old, James said: "No thoughts. And no relationship."

James will enter Wednesday's game against the Denver Nuggets 1,243 points behind Abdul-Jabbar on the all-time list. It's a virtual certainty he will pass the legendary center midway through the 2022-23 season.