Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James’ name is at or near the top of every NBA record at this point and he is proving that he can still stave off Father Time.
What James is doing in Year 23 is beyond unprecedented as he still has some explosiveness to his game that he couples with a complete mastery of the game. While he’s physically lost a step, James makes up for it with his basketball IQ as he is almost always in the right spot to make a player either as a scorer or passer.
Against the Denver Nuggets, James was excellent in keeping Los Angeles within striking distance. He even led a spirited fourth quarter comeback that fell just short as the Lakers wound up losing 120-113.
The loss will sting because Los Angeles had several opportunities to steal a win on the road, but it shouldn’t take away from James making more history as he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leader in made field goals. After the game, he reflected on the accomplishment, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“At the end of the day, just my name being linked to some of the greatest that have ever played this game has always been humbling and it’s a pretty cool thing. I grew up watching, reading, idolizing a lot of the greats. If I was ever able to be a [art of the NBA, I wanted to put myself in position where I could be named with some of the greats by doing something right. So that’s pretty cool.”
However, James added that it was hard to celebrate it considering he hurt his elbow and the Lakers lost:
“It doesn’t hit me at all right now. All I feel is my elbow and the loss. Obviously it’s a pretty cool feat, but it’s hard for me to kind of wrap my head around it and what it looks like… I’ve never had a goal to have that record. I came into this league understanding that I had to start from scratch. I was the No. 1 player in the country, wanted to start from scratch and get myself up back possibly to being the best player in the world again. That was my only mindset. Throughout that, I’ve been able to hit some milestones and I had some goals that I put on myself and some that I did not. Tonight was not one of the goals, but it’s a pretty cool feat. It’s an unbelievable feat. To see the list, to see the players that have done it, to see the players that have come through this league, I don’t know how many players have played in the NBA, but it’s the greatest players in the world. For my name to be mentioned with the greats and be at the top of it is awesome.”
Over the years, it’s become common for James to accomplish something historic in a loss and the sentiment remains the same following a rough defeat to Denver. The Nuggets were shorthanded as they were missing most of their wings, but they still gave the Lakers defense problems with their outside shooting.
At this point in his career, LeBron has nothing left to prove as he’s accomplished just about everything a player could hope for. Being the all-time made field goals leader is a massive feat, but the ultimate goal for James will always be championships.
LeBron James opens up about motivation growing up
LeBron James has been honest about the tough childhood he had growing up in Ohio, illustrating what it was like to live in a single-parent household. James gave his mom a lot of credit for raising him in less-than-ideal circumstances and opened up about his motivation to get the two of them out of their rough situation.
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