Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James made history Tuesday night when he broke former Lakers great Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s all-time NBA points record—putting him at 38,388 career points and renewing the debate for some over who is the league’s greatest player of all time.
Lebron broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record which had stood for 38 years when on Kareem broke Wilt Chamberlain’s then record of 31,419 on April 5, 1984 – just about nine months before James was born. Lebron James is 38 years old. Many including Lebron never thought this record would be touched but King James broke the record Tuesday, February 8th with a stepback jump shot with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter of the Lakers’ home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Abdul-Jabbar in attendance.
What makes this achievement even more incredible, Lebron James in also fourth all-time in assists. He passed Steve Nash for fourth place on the NBA’s all-time assist leaderboard following his 11-assist performance against the New York Knicks seven days before on Tuesday, January 31st. James’ ability to efficiently distribute the ball is particularly noteworthy, especially at his position.
James is still averaging seven assists per game this season.
James is in the presence of some elite company and is the only non-guard in the top 10. Here’s where he sits among the NBA greats: John Stockton is the all-time assist leader with 15,806 assists in 1,504 games played, followed by Jason Kidd at number 2 with 12,091 assists in 1,391 games played, and the Chris Paul in the third spot with 11,246 assists and counting in 1,186 and counting games played and Lebron with 10,339 assists and counting in 1,406 games and counting played, passing both Mark Jackson and Steve Nash when he reached his 10,336th assist. LeBron moved past another laker Magic Johnson while wearing a Los Angeles Lakers uniform Friday, December 2, 2022.
Remember this is Lebron’s 20th year in the league. This is no farewell tour, he is still playing at a high level and dominating the game at age 38. Still going strong in Year 20, James is firmly planted in the 10K-assist club — and within reach of passing the three players above him. A self-proclaimed “pass-first guy,” his résumé speaks volumes as a four-time MVP, Finals MVP and NBA champion. A significant chunk of his assists (6,228) came when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And if that isnt enough to celebrate the greatness of Lebron James, also on Tuesday, Janaury 31st, he finished the night with 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, giving him his first triple-double of the season. In the process, he became the fourth-oldest player ever to record a triple-double, trailing Elvin Hayes in 1984, Tim Duncan in 2014 and Karl Malone in 2003. With 106 career triple-doubles, James trails Jason Kidd for fourth place all-time by only a single triple-double.
He was just named an All-Star starter for the 19th time, and was this year’s top vote-getter. So, yeah, he still has plenty of basketball in front of him, and that means there are plenty of records that he can still break.
How many Billionaires come from Hov crib? huh
I count three, me, Ye and Rih
Bron’s a Roc boy, so four technically.
– Jay Z’s five plus minute verse on DJ Khaled smash hit ‘God Did’ performed at the Grammy’s
This has been a big week in Los Angeles with the Grammy’s also taken place two days earlier at Crypto-com Arena on Sunday, February 5. First there was the 50 Anniversary is Hip-Hop celebration and legendary performance. Legendary producer and mogul Dr. Dre – born in the South Central Los Angeles city of Compton – was honored with the inaugural Dr. Dre Global Impact Award for all of his achievements in the music industry. Crypto.com Arena looked like the days of the Showtime Lakers of Kareem and Magic Johnson with all the celebrities present on this historic night.
Celebrities included Liberty Ross and Jimmy Iovine, LL Cool J, Kareem, Magic and James Worthy of the Showtime Lakers, Woody Harrelson, Floyd Mayweather, Denzel Washington, Bad Bunny, Jay Z, and Bryce James and Bronny James who came to see witness their dad make history like everyone else, sitting next to Lebron’s sons was Nike founder Phil Knight and others who were still in town from the 65th Grammy’s.
While LeBron James broke the NBA’s career scoring record with 38 points, the Oklahoma City Thunder (in 11th place in the Western Conference Standings) beat the Los Angeles Lakers (13 Place in Western Conference Standings) 133-130 on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Laker are 1 1/2 games behind OKC, both teams are on the outside looking in, in the hunt for the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
I am not going to get into the GOAT conversation here but will leave that up to all of you. But whether or not you consider him the GOAT, breaking the all-time NBA points record, undeniable puts him on consideration. Let the debate begin!
