After 20 seasons in the NBA, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant called it a career a year ago leaving behind an incredible legacy as one of the greatest players to have ever played the game of basketball.
While Bryant embarks on his new venture off the court with Kobe Inc., another NBA legend continues to add to his impressive resume. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers reached another milestone on Thursday by passing Kobe first third-most points in the NBA playoffs.
James scored passed Bryant in the second quarter in Game 3 of the Cavaliers’ first-round playoff series with Paul George’s Indiana Pacers, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
With James’ and-one shot in the lane and ensuing free throw with 7:26 left in second quarter in Game 3 of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first-round series with the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, James eclipsed Bryant for third place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list. The old-fashioned three-point play gave James 13 points for the game and 5,641 points for his playoff career.
Former Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan currently sits atop the list with 5,987 points. Behind Jordan is another Lakers legend in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The six-time NBA champion had 5,762 playoff points in his career and could fall behind James if the Cavaliers continue their title defense into the later rounds of the postseason.
LeBron helped lead the Cavaliers to a remarkable come-from-behind victory over the Pacers on Thursday finishing with a game-high 41 points. James now sits with 5,669 playoff points meaning he could easily close the gap between him and Kareem this year then set his sights on matching and passing Jordan to be the league’s all-time leading scorer in the postseason.