There are a handful of records throughout all of sports that seem to be unattainable. For a long time, one of those records seemed to be Los Angeles Lakers’ legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record as so many great scorers never even came close. But current Lakers superstar LeBron James looks set to finally be the one to take it down.
The thing that has separated LeBron from anyone else throughout NBA history is his consistency and in his 19th season, he has continued to look just as good as he did 10 years ago.
Though he did have an injury issue early in the year, James has been playing at an MVP level since returning and it is almost incomprehensible how good he remains this late into his career.
Another Lakers legend, Magic Johnson, recently took to Twitter to praise LeBron for how excellent he has been. Abdul-Jabbar would then respond to that tweet, saying that he will gladly be there to congratulate James if and when he breaks his scoring record:
If he can keep up his consistency I’ll gladly be there to congratulate him if and when he breaks the scoring record.
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) January 11, 2022
This is something Abdul-Jabbar has been consistent about since it became clear that there was a real chance his fellow Laker could surpass this record. Kareem has previously said that he’s excited for LeBron to potentially break the record and these words are in that same vein. Abdul-Jabbar believes that records are meant to be broken and anyone who can break his deserves to be celebrated.
Abdul-Jabbar has actually been speaking plenty about James this season as they are two of the most outspoken athletes on off-court issues as well. In fact, Abdul-Jabbar recently criticized James over an Instagram post that compared the coronavirus (COVID-19) to the flu and common cold and noted that he believed it to be a blow to James’ legacy.
LeBron, however, chose not to respond to the criticism, though he did further explain his post in order to provide clarity.
Regardless, these are two of the greatest players to ever step foot on an NBA court and the respect level is there on both sides. What James is doing on the court right now is truly unbelievable and it may be only a matter of time before we see Abdul-Jabbar courtside, passing that scoring torch over to LeBron.
James moves to seventh on NBA’s all-time assists list
On the road to potentially passing Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record, James continues to move up other all-time lists as well. His most recent accomplishment had to do with his passing as he surpassed another great, Oscar Robertson, to move up to seventh on the NBA’s all-time assists list during the Lakers game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Afterward LeBron heaped a ton of praise of the legendary point guard. “But he was one of the first really premier big guards that could do pretty much everything out on the floor,” James said. “But his ability to get teammates involved, his ability to find his teammates, his ability to provide that sense of joy out on the floor because of the past, is something that I will always respect and have gravitated towards.
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