LeBron James is just 80 points behind Kobe Bryant on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
This means that James will most likely be passing Bryant for No. 3 on this list at some point during the Los Angeles Lakers road trip. The Lakers have four games remaining, meaning James simply needs to average 20 points per game to pass Bryant.
Based on how many points James gets against the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, he’ll likely either pass Bryant against the Brooklyn Nets or Philadelphia 76ers. This moment should be interesting for many fans as Bryant is a Lakers legend and likely their favorite player.
However, Bryant isn’t thinking about that as James gets ready to pass him. He’s only thinking about the legacy of the Lakers and what this moment will mean for them, according to Bill Plaschke of Los Angeles Times:
“To represent me and the Mamba mentality and what we’ve done … it’s about purple and gold … I bleed purple and gold … we all need to bleed purple and gold,” he said. “It’s about the Lakers organization and all that embodies … it’s not about individual players.”
However, Bryant did have to compliment James and what he’s done as a player in this sport:
“You got to celebrate … appreciate what he is as an athlete while he is here” he said. “Appreciate this guy, celebrate what he’s done, because it’s truly remarkable.”
While some might expect Bryant to have reservations about being passed on the all-time scoring list due to his competitive nature and Mamba Mentality, he knows that records are made to be broken.
It seems that Bryant is genuinely excited that he’ll be passed by one of the greatest players to ever play the game as he wears a Lakers jersey. James doing all of this and breaking all of these records in the purple and gold would certainly change the competitive mindset of Bryant.
Regardless of when James finally get this done, there’s no doubt he’ll be almost universally praised by Lakers fans everywhere. And now that Bryant is openly rooting for him, it makes the moment even more exciting during this road trip.