When LeBron James broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record, fans at home quickly picked up that almost everyone in the stadium was recording the moment on their phones. Pictures: Getty Images

The moment LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer has shown just how much basketball and its fans have changed throughout his career, with fans picking up on an amusing detail from the moment he took the record-breaking shot. James’ 34 points against the OKC Thunder on Wednesday were enough to see him surpass basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the leading scorer in league history, with 38,390 points to his name.

James has been a central figure in the NBA ever since he was dubbed the ‘chosen one’ while still in high school, before being picked first in the 2003 NBA draft. Putting that into perspective, James made his first NBA Finals appearance with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007 season, a year before Apple launched the first iPhone.

Basketball fans were quick to pick up on the fact that nearly everybody in the stands had their phones out, hoping to capture James’ moment in history as he surpassed the record. A lone fan can be seen sitting in a courtside seat on the baseline with nothing in his hands, simply enjoying the moment.

The images of thousands of fans holding up their phones was juxtaposed by another famous NBA image, that of Michael Jordan hitting the finals-winning shot against the Utah Jazz in the 1998 Finals – his last before he retired. In that image, before mobile photography had been developed, fans were transfixed on the moment Jordan shot the ball over Utah’s Bryon Russell

Abdul-Jabbar penned an emotional tribute to LeBron James after embracing the legend who broke his fabled record as the leading points scorer in NBA history. The pair hugged at centre court in Los Angeles on Tuesday after 38-year-old James had eclipsed Abdul-Jabbar’s mark of 38,387 career regular-season points on a fadeaway shot with 10.9 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the Lakers’ 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Abdul-Jabbar opened the post by praising James’ “unbelievable drive, dedication and talent” and also lauded his desire for winning while being a good teammate. The Basketball Hall of Fame member then addressed his feelings as James pulled closer to the record.

“In the months leading up to LeBron breaking my record, so much was written about how I would feel on the day he sank that record-breaking shot that I had to laugh,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote. “I’d already written several times stating exactly how I felt, so there really wasn’t much to speculate about.

“It’s as if I won a billion dollars in a lottery, and 39 years later, someone won two billion dollars. How would I feel? Grateful that I won and happy that the next person also won. His winning in no way affects my winning.”

LeBron James praised by prior NBA record holder Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

He then focused on former teammate Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who said he felt that Abdul-Jabbar would have a difficult time watching his record go by the boards. Abdul-Jabbar admitted that may have been the case shortly after his retirement – but not anymore.

Abdul-Jabbar also addressed his relationship with the 38-year-old James … or lack thereof. “LeBron said we don’t have a relationship. He’s right — and for that I blame myself. Not for anything I did, but perhaps for not making more of an effort to reach out to him,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote.