LeBron James has been in the NBA for 18 years now. Even in his 19th season, he has shown the world why he is one of the greatest ever to play the sport of basketball. This season he surpassed Karl Malone for most points in NBA history.

Hence, it won’t be much of a surprise if he surpasses the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as well. LeBron is 2nd on the list of most points in NBA history behind Kareem by only 1,325 points. One would not put it past LeBron to achieve this feat even if he has to push himself for an extra year to become the player with the most points in the NBA.

There have been some words between Kareem and LeBron over the years. While there are not many reasons for any sort of bad blood between the two, Kareem has often criticized LeBron for a few things in the course of his career.

WATCH THIS STORY: A comparison between LeBron and Kareem on the court and cultural impact.

Carmelo Anthony ready to be the peacemaker between LeBron James and Kareem

After the game against the Nuggets, Carmelo Anthony answered a few questions of the reporters. Among many things, he talked was about the differences between LeBron and Kareem.

“I don’t even think there’s an issue, to be honest with you,” Melo said. “But I’ll be that. I’ll sit in the room with those guys and bring ‘em in. I don’t think no media needs to be involved in that. That’s two grown men. Two powerful Black men getting in a room together and talking and speaking and putting things on the table, however anybody feels. I’m around Bron so I know he don’t talk about it much. I don’t know if he even pays attention to it or not. He hears it. I’m sure he hears it. But yeah, that’s a conversation that two Black men need to have.”

It was clear from Melo’s words that LeBron does not pay much heed to these kinds of conversations. Given the respect and admiration between the two NBA legends, LeBron has never seen the words from Kareem in a bad light and knows it is simply a difference of opinion.

“Some of the things he’s done and said are really beneath him, as far as I can see,” Kareem said about LeBron, before the Lakers’ game against the Nuggets. “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.”

“(I hold) a higher expectation for him because he understands the issues and spoken to them quite forcefully and eloquently,” Kareem added. 

Also read: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar backs LeBron to break his record for most NBA points.

To be clear, this is a civil and respectful disagreement between LeBron and Abdul-Jabbar, with little to no bad blood or personal grudge involved. There has been only one instance when LeBron addressed the criticism from Kareem, back in 2020.

Other than that, the two greats haven’t shared many words. In fact, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says that LeBron James deserves to surpass him for the career he has had. He even came forward and apologized for his comments over the weekend.