LeBron James added a new chapter in his legendary career after becoming the best scorer in the history of the NBA, by surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Tuesday in the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder 130-133.
James needed 36 points to break Jabbar’s steadfast record for 39 years, specifically since 1984. He reached this number before the end of the match, in which he scored a total of 38 points, raising his score to 38,390 in the lead, three points ahead of Jabbar.
Similar to Jabbar, James’ number will stand for decades, since the closest to him among the players who are still in the stadiums is his dear friend Carmelo Anthony with 28.289, ranked ninth on the list.
At the age of thirty-eight, the “king” added a new title to his rich career, after being crowned four times in the prestigious league, and he achieved this achievement in his twentieth season in the “NBA” league, by scoring his thirty-sixth point from a shot from six meters, at the end of the third quarter. , raising his score to 38,388 points.
James raised his hands high in relief. In a historic moment, the match stopped when the score was 104-99 to Oklahoma City, and the celebrations began at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, in the presence of Abdul-Jabbar, who was the first to congratulate him.
League Commissioner Adam Silver, who delivered a speech on this occasion, was also attended by actors, celebrities and dignitaries, while a congratulatory message from President Joe Biden was broadcast on television after the expected achievement.
“that means alot to me”
“Being able to have a legend and a great player like Karim in attendance means a lot to me,” said James, moved.
He continued, after thanking his family and fans, “I thank everyone who has stood with me on the journey of the last twenty years, because I could not have achieved this without your help, your passion and your sacrifices that helped me get here.”
“Thank you both for allowing me to be a part of something I could not have dreamed would be better than tonight in a million years,” LeBron thanked league commissioner Silver and his late predecessor David Stern.
From the start, James was determined to set the record on Tuesday by finishing the first half with 20 points, before adding 16 in the third quarter.
In addition to his four titles in the league, he won the MVP award in the Final four times, in addition to the MVP award for the season four times as well.
He was a 19-time All-Star, not to mention the Rookie of the Year award and two Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012.
At the age of 18, James became the youngest player in the history of the “Draft” when his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, selected him for first place in 2003, and he remained with them until 2010.
He moved to the Miami Heat until 2014, and won the league title with him in 2012 and 2013. He returned to the Cavaliers and stayed with him until 2018, winning the 2016 title. He won the title with a different third team, after leading the Lakers to the crown in 2020.
And James, who succeeded in 13 of his twenty attempts on this historic evening, wished himself that this achievement would be accompanied by an important victory for a team trying to avoid absence from the “Playoff” for a second season in a row, but the Lakers defeated me in the end by defeating it thirty in 55 games despite the efforts. The King” and Russell Westbrook, who scored 27 points with 8 assists, while Anthony Davis had 13 points.
On the other hand, three players from Thunder reached twenty points or more, namely Shay Gilgios Alexander (30), Galen Williams (25) and Josh Gedi (20), which contributed to the twenty-sixth victory for Thunder, who reached the difference between him and his host in one of the periods of the match. To 15 points, while the largest difference in favor of James and his companions was 5 points.
Jokic continues his hobby
And unlike the Lakers, who are retreating in thirteenth place, the Denver Nuggets continue to consolidate their lead in the Western Region with 38 wins in 55 games, after taking revenge on their guest, the Minnesota Timberwolves, by sweeping them 146-112, to be considered one of the last who dropped them on Sunday 98-128.
Once again, the Serbian Nikola Jokic was the star of the Nuggets, after he continued his hobby by achieving the nineteenth “Triple Double” for the season.
Jokic reached the “Triple Double” in the first half on his way to scoring 20 points with 16 assists and 12 rebounds in a match that did not complete until his third quarter as a result of the great difference his team achieved (he reached 40 points in one of the periods of the match).
The Nuggets’ intention was clear from the start, scoring 49 points in the first quarter, compared to only 19 for its guest, thanks to Michael Porter Jr. in particular, as he scored 19 of his 30 points in this quarter.
The Phoenix Suns disturbed Cam Thomas’ achievement as the youngest player (21 years) in league history to score 40 points or more in three consecutive games (43 Tuesday), by defeating the Brooklyn Nets 116-112 thanks to the efforts of DeAndre Ayton, who scored 35 points, and his star Devin Booker. Who scored 19 points in his first game since Christmas after recovering from an injury that sidelined him 21 games.
The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Chicago Bulls 104-89, the New York Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic 102-98, and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Atlanta Hawks 116-107.
