Rob Pannell broke the all time points record. It'll be a long time before anyone else even comes close.

On Friday night in Fairfield, Connecticut, early in the third quarter, Rob Pannell caught a feed from TJ Malone and quick sticked a shot low, scoring his third goal of the night to give the Whipsnakes a 9-5 lead. Maybe a small moment in the game, but a much larger moment in lacrosse history. It was career point number 658, which passed Paul Rabil for the all time points lead. It was a moment that defines Pannell as one of the greatest to ever play lacrosse. Pannell became the all time assist leader a year ago, and now has the points crown to go along with it.

Pannell  currently also sits at 4.1 points per game. The only other players in the top 25 all time in points to crack the four per game mark are Casey Powell, Ryan Powell, Mark Millon, Conor Gill, and Jordan Wolf. The only player with more points per game than Pannell is Ryan Powell, who finished at 4.2 points per game. 

The journey to the record breaking point has been well documented. Pannell entered the 2026 season 23 points away from Rabil on the list. Since Pannell arrived at training camp this year, cameras have followed his every move, capturing every bit of training, practice, and game play. Not a single point would be missed as Pannell made the climb. In fact, the persistent attention was almost too much.

“I’m really glad this is over,” said Pannell after the game, “I’m just excited to be playing lacrosse with my teammates. I love this locker room and this group of guys, and I love being around them. I think the past couple weeks, this was taking away from that a little bit because it was just a little pressure that I wanted to get over with.”

Setting a record like the career points mark, particularly one that’s been the laser focus of the PLL media since the season started, comes with a flood of different emotions. 

“I play the game to win. I train and prepare the way I do so that I can perform on game day for my teammates because that’s their expectation. So really, it was just a lot of relief. I’m glad I don’t have to think about it anymore because I do think it was a little bit of a distraction. I’m glad that our team doesn’t have to deal with it anymore and I’m just excited to play lacrosse the rest of the season and focus on winning games,” said Pannell.

Pannell and Rabil were teammates on the New York Lizards from 2015 to 2019. In 2016, the duo rewrote the single season scoring record book, with Rabil registering 72 points and Pannell 74. It was Rabil’s second season with 72 points, Pannell would post a 78 point season in 2018. When the PLL launched in 2019, Rabil moved to the New York Atlas in the new league, while Pannell played the final year of his deal with the Lizards. 

Knowing each other that long, Rabil had a feeling early on in the game that the record was going down. Pannell scored 34 seconds into the game on a backhanded score and sent a message.

“I’ve played with him long enough to know when you come out and score an opening goal like that, it was a wrap,” Rabil said.

“I’m grateful for Paul. I spoke to him two weeks ago and we had a great conversation. You work incredibly hard to get that record, and it’s never fun when your records are broken. So it’s probably an interesting feeling for him. I appreciate everything that he said to me and his supporting me. Giving me the opportunity to still play this game, what he’s done with the PLL and where it’s going, it’s a tremendous opportunity for the sport of lacrosse that he and Mike have put into place. I wish I was 24 in this league with the direction that it’s going,” said Pannell.

Rabil was in attendance on Friday to see his record get broken. As was former MLL MVP Greg Gurenlian, another former teammate of Pannell’s, and several members of Pannell’s family. 

“I had a bunch of family and friends, my wife was in the stands, my nieces and nephews, they call came in and hoped that it would happen,” Pannell said, adding, “I wanted to do it tonight because they were here, and I don’t think they were going to be in Denver. But I was just trying not to think about it. I’m grateful for their support.”

“That’s part of why you play the game is to have their respect and to make the people around you proud,” he added.

Rabil’s journey to the record had some intricacies that made it different. Rabil had set the record with 542 points originally, passing John Grant Jr. But it was an active record as they were both still playing. He and Grant would continue to set the pace atop the points charts. After the PLL was launched, John Grant Jr came out of retirement to play for the Denver Outlaws in what would be the MLL’s final season, while Rabil moved over to the PLL. Grant would score enough points to go back in front of Rabil. Rabil was traded to the Cannons in 2021 following a poor performance in the 2020 PLL bubble season, and found himself looking to bounce back playing for the team that drafted him. At the same time, he also had the points record in sight for a second time. 

“Junior comes back and goes off, he has the record, and I, for the first time, really struggled in the early parts of my career in the PLL, especially in 2020 before I was traded. So there was a lot of fire. A lot of redemption for an old 35 year old still playing pro lacrosse. The other part was that I did feel there was a monkey on my back, but it was because of my role in the league as one of its co-founders. There was setting the record, and there was consolidating the MLL and PLL which was our goal and that’s why we call it professional lacrosse points. It was really challenging,” said Rabil.

And while the moment he reclaimed the record was memorable for Rabil, it isn’t the first thing he recalled about the game. 

“I remember that we lost, and that was an upsetting game,” Rabil said of the day he set the record. But the moment itself, the exact scenario still was special.

“I think I’m a man of spirituality, and I believe in certain things happening for a reason. So coming out of the box, matched up against Troy Reh, who I love, shooting on who I think is the best goalie to play the game in Blaze Riorden, being able to split from my right to left, having someone like Lyle [Thompson] give me the feed and being back in a Cannons uniform, some of that stuff just feels meant to be,” Rabil said. 

The evolution of the pro game through the years is part of the lens through which the all time points record has to be considered. Major League Lacrosse launched in 2001, with a ruleset designed to maximize scoring. Games were longer, playing 15 minute quarters as opposed to PLL’s 12 minute quarters. For several years, the MLL only allowed defenses to have three long sticks on the field at a time, meaning all midfielders were usually covered by shorties. Coupled with the introduction of the two point line, this created a style of play that was tailor made for midfielders who were dodgers and/or long range threats to pile up points. 

The current PLL iteration of the game makes it difficult to imagine anyone chasing down Pannell any time soon. The top scorers in the PLL in a given year typically average about 40 points (Jeff Teat’s 64 point 2024 being the outlier). A player would have to average a 40 point season for 16+ years, including a rookie season and multiple seasons in their mid to late 30s, to come close to catching Pannell in the current set up. With those circumstances, it would appear that Pannell’s final point total whenever he retires will be a nigh unbreakable mark.

“Tell that to CJ Kirst,” laughed Rabil. 

“I played more games in MLL, and games were 60 minutes. The field was bigger. I came in the league right when they reintroduced long poles; when the MLL started it was only three shorties. So it was really built for midfielders. PLL is really built for attack because of the shortened field, the shortened clock, and the short shot clock,” Rabil said.

“The best part about this game and why someone like Bill Belichick loves it so much is that it’s so fluid. You don’t get to reset every down and call a new play. You just get out there and go. Doing what Rob did in his career, and what he’s going to continue to do this season, it’s just extraordinary when we sit back and look at the record books even ten years from now because of how hard it is to play this game at that high a level,” he added. 

Perhaps unfortunately for Pannell, who sounded eager to shed some of the media attention after claiming the points crown, he still is in striking distance of some other all time records. 

“We’re going to keep following Rob, so he better get used to the camera,” said Rabil with a smile.

Pannell owns the assist record and will continue extending his lead in that category. Pannell can also pass Rabil in total goals; he is 13 goals behind Rabil with four regular season games to play before a likely Whipsnakes playoff run. Passing Rabil would put Pannell third all time, behind the still active Marcus Holman in second and Grant in first. 

Whenever he decides to retire, Pannell will leave the game owning records that won’t be broken any time soon. Now at 660 points, he is three clear of Rabil, and 17 clear of Grant. That trio are the only three players to even break 600 career points. Pannell has 316 career assists, the most all time, and no other player has ever reached 300. And with every game that passes, he extends his statistical dominance of the sport.