Everybody was looking forward to the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets matchup because these are the teams most anticipated to face each other in the NBA Finals this year, and also because LeBron James was about to join another elite club with another incredible record. In fact, it didn’t take very long for this record to happen. Now, if the Lakers win, the victory will be all the sweeter.
LeBron James reaches another milestone
The Lakers entered the locker room trailing by 11 points into halftime against Brooklyn Nets. However, they still have a lot to celebrate as their superstar, LeBron James, just crossed the 35,000 career points mark. He entered this matchup just 15 points short of achieving it. And with less than 50 seconds left for the second quarter to get over, he had 17 points for himself.
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LeBron James sits 1⃣5⃣ points away from becoming the 3rd player in NBA history to reach 35,000 CAREER POINTS!
Watch @KingJames and the @Lakers take on the Nets tonight at 10pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/U0C0VO0nQf
— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2021
Not only is LeBron James the youngest player, at 36 years and 50 days old, to achieve this feat, but also the fastest to do so in his 1,295th game. Karl Malone achieved this in his 1,369th game, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar achieved this in his 1,323rd game.
LeBron James becomes the third player in NBA history with 35,000 career points.
Games to reach that milestone:
1,323 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1,369 — Karl Malone
1,295 — LeBron James pic.twitter.com/1rcRFjCMvz— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 19, 2021
James was also the youngest and fastest player to get to 30,000 points back in 2018, right behind Wilt Chamberlain. Kareem is actually the league’s all-time scoring leader with 38,387 points, and Malone is second with 36,928 points. It will be awhile before Bron can surpass these stats, but is it impossible?
Can LeBron crush Malone and Kareem’s records?
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Assuming Bron remains as productive and healthy as he is right now, by next year’s All-Star Game, he should be able to cross Karl Malone. But that would still leave him 1,459 points shy of Kareem’s record, and it could be awhile before that happens.
However, it is hard to imagine LeBron retiring before he achieves this feat. Since he is on his way to bring the Los Angeles Lakers their second straight title, he is a force to be reckoned with. And even if he cannot achieve this milestone, he will always be one of the greatest of all time.
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Read also- ‘Not Over Until He Says’: NBA Hall of Famer Lauds LeBron James’ Incredible Form at the Age of 36