The Lakers player surpassed Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points and left it at 38,390
LeBron James is already a legend in the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers player became the top scorer in NBA history by surpassing the legendary mark of another legend like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. James needed to add 36 points to beat Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points and he did it in the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder to open the doors reserved for the legends of the best basketball league in the world.
The basket of baskets came with 10.9 seconds remaining in the third period. A medium-distance launch that allowed him to move the record of 38,387 that had stood for decades, to second place in the ranking to elevate LeBron James to the Olympus. A bursting Staples Center celebrated the basket with shouts of ‘MVP’ while the player raised his arms to the Los Angeles sky. Nothing, not even the defeat of the Lakers (130-133) prevented anyone from losing the smile of having experienced something historic.
The record remained at 38,390 points, although with each game it will continue to grow until it becomes almost unattainable. With his children, his mother, his wife or even friends and high school classmates from Ohio as exceptional witnesses, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presented him with a commemorative ball for a record that has lasted almost 39 years since Wilt Chamberlain in April 1984 was the one dethroned by Abdul-Jabbar. That transfer of power made LeBron unable to contain tears of emotion at a unique moment.
At 38 years old, the star of the Los Angeles Lakers and the highest benchmark of the competition in the 21st century, has added this record to four NBA titles (2012, 2013, 2016, 2020) and four regular season MVPs ( 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013) that he has accomplished in his two decades in the NBA.
In addition to being the all-time leading scorer, he is also the fourth in assists and accumulates more than ten thousand rebounds. As if that were not little, James, at 38, is averaging 30 points per game this season, the third highest average of his career, only below the 31.4 he signed when he was 21 and the 30.3 of the last season.
James, four times MVP of the season and a nineteen-time All Star, has needed 150 games and 3,705 fewer minutes than Abdul-Jabbar to surpass his scoring record. It is true that Kareem, dominating the paint, had a better shot (55.9% compared to LeBron’s 50.5%), but instead LeBron has taken advantage of the three-point line. Abdul-Jabbar made only eighteen 3-pointers in his entire career, of which he made one, while James has added more than 6,500 points from beyond the perimeter: 2,237 hits from 6,494 shots.
Far away is LeBron’s first basket in the NBA. It was on October 29, 2003, at just 18 years old, when he sidelined to the baseline and rose from midrange to score comfortably. “Welcome to the NBA,” the game commentator said then. That day he signed 25 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals.
I remember your mother
Excited and aware of what the moment meant, LeBron wanted to remember the fans and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. «Thank you very much to the faithful of the Lakers, you are unique. Being able to be here next to a great, a legend like Kareem, means a lot to me. Please, give El Capitan a standing ovation, “asked the already immortal player.
The Lakers player also wanted to have words for his family: «To my wife, my daughter and my two sons, friends, colleagues, family, my mother… to all who have been part of my career these more than 20 years. I want to thank you. I would not be who I am without you. All your help, passion, sacrifice have allowed me to get here. And he did not want to forget anyone in his thanks: «To the NBA, Adam Silver and the great David Stern, I also want to thank you for the opportunity to have been part of something I always dreamed of. Not in a million years would I have imagined it better than it is today.”
This is “a record that has stood for almost 40 years and that many people thought would never be broken. LeBron, you are the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. Congratulations!” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said from center court.
#LeBron #James #leading #scorer #NBA #history