LeBron James became only the second player in NBA history to score 38,000 career points on Sunday as he inches closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time record.

James, playing in his 20th NBA season, needed 11 points to reach 38,000 points and hit a mid-range jumper in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers' home game against the Philadelphia 76ers to move past the milestone.

The 38-year-old forward has averaged 29 points per game this season and is on course to break former Lakers center Abdul-Jabbar's record of 38,387 points in the coming weeks. (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Peter Rutherford)