LeBron passes Kobe for No. 3 in all-time scoring

PHILADELPHIA — LeBron James was a teenager when he first met Kobe Bryant at a youth basketball camp, in awe of his idol and ears open as the Los Angeles Lakers star offered advice to the prodigy that has lasted to this day.

“I was just listening,” James said. “I was just trying to soak everything up I could. I remember one thing he said was that if you want to try and be great at it, and want to be one of the greats, you’ve got to put the work in.”

James put in the work and followed Bryant’s path — from making the leap from high school straight to the NBA, to winning NBA titles, and, eventually, to playing in Los Angeles.

With a driving right-handed layup, James no longer chased Bryant, he zoomed past him for third place on the NBA’s career scoring list.

“I’m just happy to be in any conversation with Kobe Bryant, one of the all-time greats to ever play,” James said.

With a tribute to Bryant written on his Nikes, James scored 29 points in front of a roaring 76ers crowd, but the Lakers fell short in a 108-91 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday.

James scribbled “Mamba 4 Life” as he chased Bryant, the five-time champion. Fans stood with phones pointed toward the court, waiting to capture a slice of history that came when James scored the milestone basket with 7:23 left in the third quarter.

James entered 18 points shy of passing Bryant, and the layup gave him 33,644 points. James stands third with 33,655. Bryant finished with 33,643, all with the Lakers.

“Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames.

Much respect my brother #33644,” Bryant tweeted.

James waved to the Philadelphia crowd that gave him a rousing standing ovation when the mark was announced by the public address announcer. The Sixers also posted a graphic of the NBA’s top 10 scorers with images of James in Lakers and Miami Heat jerseys.

James, 35, entered averaging at least 25 points (25.2 ppg) for the 16th straight season and has played 44 games this season.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s scoring leader with 38,387 points, and Karl Malone is second at 36,928. James is on pace to pass Abdul-Jabbar in about three seasons. The NBA’s top four scorers played for the Lakers, who signed James as a free agent in 2018.

Chris Szagola The Associated Press Lakers forward LeBron James soars to the basket between 76ers guard Shake Milton and forward Tobias Harris in the first half of Los Angeles’ 108-91 loss Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.