The 2022-23 season was a special one for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James as he set numerous career milestones.
However, James’ biggest accomplishment was when he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. The anticipation in Crypto.com Arena was palpable as James scored basket after basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the building exploded once he hit the mark in the third quarter.
The King has never considered himself a scorer, though his stats suggest otherwise as he’s been one of the best bucket getters in the league for quite some time now. Since joining the Lakers, James has accomplished so many feats and as a result Jeanie Buss confirmed he would have his jersey retired by the franchise at some point.
Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record was previously considered untouchable, but with James breaking it, some believe it’s only a matter of time until someone passes him up. However, Byron Scott believes James’ record will stand forever, via an interview with Brandon “Scoop B Robinson” of Bally Sports:
“No I don’t. And I think that the reason why is the consistency. LeBron has played 20 years in the NBA and has never really been fully hurt and when he gets hurt, he comes right back; he keeps himself in unbelievable condition, he going to play another year or so and I think that he’ll get to the point where he’ll have over 40,000 points in this league and I don’t think that it will be broken especially in our lifetime.“
What truly separates James from his peers his longevity and as Scott notes the 38-year-old has done an amazing job keeping his body as fresh as possible. In the modern NBA, teams have been more careful with their star players and have held them out of games to preserve them so that’s another factor working in James’ favor.
With James coming back from another season, he’ll continue to create separation on the scoring list and could very well be the first player to break 40,000 points. Records are meant to be broken, though it’s hard to imagine any player coming close to James’ feat.
Byron Scott believes Rob Pelinka should’ve won Executive of the Year
The Lakers started last season on the wrong foot, though they turned it around after Rob Pelinka was able to swing multiple deals at the trade deadline. Pelinka continued that great work this offseason, leading Scott to believe that Pelinka should be named the Executive of the Year.
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