LeBron James continues to do unprecedented things on the basketball court as he approaches breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record. The 38-year-old became the first player to score 40 points against every single NBA team after his recent game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player finished Tuesday night (Jan. 24) with 46 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. He also set a new career-high for made three-pointers with nine, though the Los Angeles Lakers took the loss to their hometown rivals 133-115.
The rest of the Lakers team had a pretty disappointing output, especially with the continued absence of their star forward Anthony Davis. Only Russell Westbrook and Thomas Bryant scored in the double-digits, with 17 and 15 points respectively.
The Clippers, on the other hand, were boosted by 27 points from Paul George, 25 points from Kawhi Leonard, 22 points from Norman Powell, 19 points from Reggie Jackson, and 17 points from Terance Mann.
Dwyane Wade, a known close friend of King James, was sitting courtside at the game and stood to his feet one point after he made a three-pointer. “Stop that GOAT!,” the former Miami Heat superstar yelled. LeBron is now just 178 points away from becoming the top all-time scorer in NBA history.
He recently spoke about the milestone in an exclusive interview with ESPN‘s Dave McMenamin. “The scoring record was never ever even thought of in my head because I’ve always been a pass-first guy. I’ve always loved seeing the success of my teammates,” the House Party actor said, much to the chagrin of social media users who were baffled by the statement.
“When I say I’m not a scorer, I say it in a sense of, it’s never been the part of my game that defines me…but there’s an argument to it. […] It won’t be for me to discuss because I’ve never felt that way..”
Despite being so close to this achievement, LeBron is still focused on winning and competing for championships, as he told the media back in December 2022.