Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is aware that Karl Malone is in pursuit of his all-time NBA scoring record. But the Hall of Fame center believes Malone should pursue another of Abdul-Jabbar's achievements even harder: A world championship.

"A championship should be everybody's motivation," said Abdul-Jabbar, who was honored during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday. "That's the most important thing. That's why I played the game."

As he was doing so, the innovator of the skyhook also piled up 38,387 points, more than anyone in history. It's a record that many people considered unbreakable when Abdul-Jabbar retired after 20 NBA seasons with the Bucks and Lakers, but one that Malone is quickly closing in on.

The Jazz great finished his 18th season with 36,374 points, just 2,013 away from the record. If he plays two more seasons, Malone needs to average only 12.3 points per game to catch Abdul-Jabbar; if he maintains the 20.6-point average he posted last season, the soon-to-be 40-year-old would catch Abdul-Jabbar in early December 2004.