Lakers star LeBron James breaks NBA record for career minutes

On By Littum

LeBron James is now 1st in career points, 1st in career minutes, 4th in career assists and 8th in career steals.

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Lakers star LeBron James surpassed six-time NBA MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most minutes played in league history on Thursday, adding another major record to his career resume.

Already the all-time leader in career points, James surpassed Abdul-Jabbar with his 10th minute against the Kings, giving him 57,447 and counting in 1,517 games played.

“It’s just a commitment to the craft and the passion and love I have for the game,” James said after Thursday’s shootaround. “I don’t spend much time in the off-season. A little more time now.

“I didn’t spend a lot of time in the offseason, whether it was playing the 10 finals back to back and just always trying to keep my body in tip-top shape.”

In addition to his record 11,838 playoff minutes, James has played about 70,000 total minutes — the equivalent of 1,458 full games — since entering the NBA out of high school as the No. 1 overall pick in 2003.

He also holds the NBA records for career field goal attempts and turnovers, while ranking fourth in assists, eighth in steals and 29th in rebounds.

Abdul-Jabbar retired in 1989 with 57,446 minutes played. Karl Malone (54,852), Dirk Nowitzki (51,368) and Kevin Garnett (50,418) round out the top five.