Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is one of the best to ever play in the NBA (and basketball, period) and his legacy will set the standard for generations to come, with the Akron, Ohio native breaking records constantly and leaving an incredible career along the way.
His latest accomplishment? Reaching at least 30 points in the regular season for the 563rd time in his career, surpassing the mark established by Michael Jordan in 2003. The Chicago Bulls legend set his record in 1,072 games over 15 seasons, while the Cleveland Cavaliers icon surpassed it in his 1,523rd appearance over 22 seasons.
Anthony Davis throws major shade at his Lakers teammate LeBron James for surpassing Michael Jordan
James reached the milestone with a turnaround jumper with 5:58 to play for the last of his 30 points during the Los Angeles Lakers‘ victory over Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. “It’s very humbling,” LeBron said. “Anytime I’m mentioned with any of the greats, and arguably the greatest ever to play the game, super-cool. It’s someone I idolized in my childhood, and I wear 23 because of him.” James added.
Anthony Davis’ not that happy about it
Anthony Davis and LeBron James’ partnership has gone a long way, with the former New Orleans Pelicans star winning his first NBA championship (2020 against the Miami Heat) and setting him up for success during his professional basketball career.
However, Chicago nativeAD didn’t seemed to be that happy about his teammate’s latest accomplishment and he made sure the media knew about it when he got interviewed on the locker room after the Lakers’ victory over the Hawks.
“It bothers me,” the Lakers big man said with a grin. “But it took him seven more seasons. … No, actually, growing up, I was more No. 1 LeBron. That was my era. So that’s obviously a hell of an accomplishment. I think he’s probably No. 1 in everything at this point. I’ve been here long enough to witness so many accomplishments.”
James turned 40 last week, and he is among the few remaining active players who personally witnessed Jordan in his 1990s prime with the Chicago Bulls. He studied and admired “His Airness” during his childhood in Akron, Ohio.
When James passed Jordan for fourth place on the NBA’s career scoring list back in March 2019, the moment moved him to tears on the Lakers’ bench. He called Michael “an inspiration” and “the lightning in a bottle for me, because I wanted to be like him.”
James does not show any signs of slowing down
James also passed Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki (1,522) for the fourth-most games played in the regular season in NBA history Friday night. James has already played the most postseason games (287) in NBA history.
But LeBron shows absolutely no signs of slowing in his record-tying 22nd season: He scored 38 points against Portland Trail Blazers one night earlier to tie Jordan’s 30-point mark.
James hit seven 3-pointers against the Blazers while putting up the third-most points ever scored by a player over 40 – trailing only two games played by Jordan shortly after he turned 40 with Washington.
Only three players have scored at least 30 points in an NBA game after turning 40. Jordan did it four times, Nowitzki did it once – and James has already done it twice in the first five days of his 40s.
LeBron became the NBA’s career scoring leader last season, and he holds several additional longevity records. He has scored at least 10 points in 1,253 consecutive games over the past 18 years, obliterating the record set by Michael from 1986 to 2001 (866).
