SPORTSCLOPEDIA 32: LEBRON JAMES BREAKS KAREEM ABDUL JABBAR'S ALL-TIME NBA SCORING RECORD
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 09 Feb 2023
LeBron James shot a historic 14-foot fadeaway jumper and it placed him at the top of NBA's all-time scoring list before thousands of cheering fans at the Los Angeles Lakers' homecourt at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.
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It was his signature fadeaway jumper with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter in a 133-130 game loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder that made James the number one all-time NBA scorer, an achievement that Abdul-Jabbar held for more than 38 years with 38,387 career points.
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Before the game started, James had 38,352 points, and just 36 points away from breaking Abdul-Jabbar's feat. He ended the game with 38 points on 13-of-20 shooting, with 4-of-6 from 3 point range, together with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
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The game stopped to rejoice the breaking of a record that several fans and experts thought would never be attained by any other NBA player. James, emotional as he is, was with tears in his eyes.
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"Tonight, I actually felt like I was sitting on top of the arena when that shot went in, and the roar from the crowd. I'm not sure if I would be able to feel that feeling again, unless it's a game-winning Finals shot," James said during the interview.
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In 1984, Abdul-Jabbar broke the scoring record held by Wilt Chamberlain. The event took place in Las Vegas, where the Utah Jazz played 11 home games that season. A patented sky hook went in over Mark Eaton, and Abdul-Jabbar briefly went to celebrate and that's it, the game continued.
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Abdul-Jabbar, was sitting courtside to witness the passing of the torch. He stood and applauded as James raised his hands to the roof of the arena in celebration. The former Lakers star and NBA commissioner Adam Silver stood with James at the center court and shook his hand accompanied by brief hugs.
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James then addressed the cheering fans, "Everybody that has ever been a part of this run with me the last 20-plus years, I want to say thank you so much because I wouldn't be me without all y'all. All y'all helped. All y'all's passion and sacrifices helped me to get to this point."
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Celebrities who were present to witness history include Denzel Washington, Jay-Z, Bad Bunny, LL Cool J, Usher, Andy Garcia and many others. Basketball greats also were there, including Lakers stars Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Bob McAdoo, together with former Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade, who was with James for two NBA championships.
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The Lakers accredited more than 200 media members for the occasion, which happens only during late-round playoff games. James' family and friends, including some high school teammates, from Akron, Ohio, flew in to attend the historic event. James didn't let them down as he surge through the scoring record in a 16-point third quarter.
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Abdul-Jabbar's record had stood since April 5, 1984. The 38-year-old James was born about nine months later. After 38 years and ten months the scoring record was broken.
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James has been averaging 27.2 points per game while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-10, 2014-18), Miami Heat (2010-14) and the Lakers (2018-present).
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Not included in his regular-season scoring record are his 7,631 playoff points, also the highest in NBA history. He has played in 266 career playoff games, winning four NBA championships.
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James has been a consistent scorer as he also extended his record streak of double-digit scoring to 1,140 consecutive games.
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The four-time MVP also ranked No. 4 in assists, No. 9 in steals, No. 32 in rebounds and No. 91 in blocks and logged the third-most minutes of playing time in NBA history.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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