James shoots, soars to scoring mark
The roar from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena started as soon as LeBron James came through the tunnel to start his pregame shooting routine Tuesday night, a sense of anticipation that the Lakers star was going to eclipse the NBA’s all-time scoring record held by Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
And that James did, knocking down a 14-foot fallaway jumper with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter, giving him 38,388 points at that moment, one more than Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) had scored over his 20-season career.
The crowd went into a frenzy. There was a celebration on the court, with James bending over and crying at times and then looking for his family.
Abdul-Jabbar presented him with the basketball, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said a few words.
With his family nearby, James looked at his adoring fans and shared a few words.
“I would never, ever in a million years have dreamed this any better than it is tonight,” James said. “... Thank you, guys.”
James scored just two more points the rest of the game, finishing with 38 points and seven rebounds in the Lakers’ 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
He checked out of the game with 37.1 seconds left and the Lakers down by six, having pushed his all-time record to 38,390 points.
Before the game, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss recalled the night AbdulJabbar broke the record that had been held by Wilt Chamberlain, also a former Lakers star.
The game was in Las Vegas on April 5, 1984, and it was a home game for the Utah Jazz.
“I remember the night when Kareem broke the record, and I can still hear Chick Hearn saying, ‘This record will never be broken.’ And the idea that we’re here and that someone is breaking it. Back when Kareem broke it so many years ago, 39 years ago, we couldn’t even imagine a player like LeBron. And now here he is and what he’s done, this record is not a Laker record. This is a LeBron record. This is a tribute to his hard work, his perseverance, his longevity in this business.”
James missed his first shot of the game — and the team’s first — a driving layup. He then turned the ball over on the Lakers’ next possession. He missed his second shot, a 15-footer.
He scored his first basket on a three-pointer. There was a quick scare when James was hit in the face by an inadvertent elbow from Oklahoma City’s Josh Giddey. James went down and then to the bench, but he came back in the game.
James finished the first half with 20 points, needing just 16 more to break the record.
James was clearly on his way to a record that Lakers coach Darvin Ham, speaking before the game, said he at one time didn’t see anyone breaking.
“I didn’t think anybody would be able to walk this down,” Ham said. “It’s amazing, talk about 38,000 points, it’s like, whew! But here we are. ‘Records are made to be broken,’ as the old saying goes. ... Thank God I’m able to be a part of this.”
The Lakers entered the game 13th in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the 12th-seeded Thunder. The Lakers took another step back, falling one more game behind Oklahoma City.