Lebron James climbs to NBA pedestal as all-time leading scorer

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James emerged as the NBA’s king of scoring on Tuesday, beating the record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for 39 years and long considered unattainable.

‘King James’ rose to the top of the list of top scorers by adding his 36th point with a characteristic shot jumping back (fade away) with seconds left to close the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

James raised his arms in a show of both joy and relief as the 19,000 fans at the Crypto.com Arena erupted in a huge celebration.

The Lakers ended up losing the game 133-130, a defeat that keeps them away from the playoffs, but nothing overshadowed the great night of James, who finished with 38 points and raised the record of his two decades of career to 38,390 points. above the 38,387 accumulated by the legendary Abdul-Jabbar.

Abdul-Jabbar himself, LeBron’s family and a collection of celebrities came to celebrate the Lakers star, who at 38 continues to add to an extraordinary record that places him in the debate of the best players in history.

After the record, which has captured the attention of the NBA in recent weeks, the game was stopped for about 20 minutes to honor James’ feat.

This is “a record that has stood for almost 40 years and that many people thought would never be broken”said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

A James moved to tears thanked Abdul-Jabbar, with whom he melted into an emotional hug, his family and all the Lakers fans.

“To everyone who has been a part of this race with me these past 20 years, I just want to say thank you because it wouldn’t be me without all your help, all your passion and all your sacrifices to help me get here,” he said. “Never in a million years would I have dreamed of anything better than what it is tonight.”

At the ceremony, messages followed one another on the giant screens, from the congratulations of US President Joe Biden to the greeting of students from the school that James founded in Akron, his hometown.

“You raised the game. More than that, like Kareem and Bill Russell and others who came before you, you challenged and inspired the nation to be better and to do better and to live up to all our promises. Keep it up,” Biden encouraged.

“There will never be another LeBron”

Since breaking into the league as number one in the 2003 Draft, LeBron has accumulated numerous individual records and led all the franchises in which he played to the championship, giving two rings to the Miami Heat (2012 and 2013) and one to the Cleveland Cavaliers. (2016) and the Lakers (2020).

With supernatural longevity, the forward averages 30.02 points per night this season (third best average of his career) but the deficit state of the Lakers prevents him from fighting to get close to the six rings of Michael Jordan, seen as his great rival for status best player ever.

“LeBron’s career is that of someone who planned to dominate this game.” praised Abdul-Jabbar. “He has that indefinable essence they call leadership.”

The end of LeBron’s countdown to the record summoned figures from music like Jay Z and Bad Bunny, from movies like Denzel Washington and from sports like John McEnroe.

Also present were James’s mother, who raised him alone in a troubled neighborhood as a teenager, his wife and children.

“This historic moment is so special because we will never see another LeBron James again.” said the iconic Magic Johnson. “His ability to make his teammates better is unique, which makes breaking the record even more incredible!”

“I choose myself over anyone”

To complete the record, LeBron needed to score at least 36 points against the Thunder and, although he missed his first two shots, he soon warmed up and at halftime he already had 20.

After talking in the middle with his sons Bronny and Bryce, Lebron resumed work with two consecutive triples and reached the necessary figure with a ‘fade away’ that unleashed euphoria on the court and had an air of his idol Jordan.

“I’ll let others decide who it is but it’s a good debate,” James later told TNT when asked by Shaquille O’Neal if he now considers himself the greatest of all time.

“Personally I choose myself over anyone who has played this game, but everyone will have their favorite”, settled the forward when O’Neal insisted that he position himself.

“This is so surreal, because it’s something I’ve never set a goal or set out to do, so I’m happy.”He said about the LeBron record, determined to continue fighting for his fifth ring at least until he can fulfill his last dream: to meet his son Bronny in the league in 2024.

“I know I can play a couple more years. For how I feel, for how my body has reacted throughout this season ”, assured. “If I stay motivated to try to compete for championships, I feel like I can still do it for any franchise.”