On Monday, LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 111-102 victory over the Boston Celtics to even the Eastern Conference Finals at 2-2. But bringing the Cavaliers back wasn’t the only bit of news LeBron made on the night.
With a jumper in the second quarter, James passed Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most field goals made in NBA playoff history. LeBron would go on to finish with 17 total baskets, scoring 44 points on the night.
Following the game, James spoke about the accomplishment and was humbled to be at the top of the list with so many other NBA legends, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
“To know where I come from, small city 35 miles south of here, and to hear I’m in the same category or talked about and jumping these greats in the playoffs, it’s pretty cool,” James said. “You hear the scoring, the field goals made, and for a kid that really doesn’t care much about scoring.”
Any time you pass Kareem on any list having to do something with scoring points, it is an amazing accomplishment.
As James noted, he is someone who who is more about making the right play first and foremost, so to have a record for playoff field goals is truly outstanding.
After failing to do so in his first two years, LeBron has made the playoffs every year since, so he has been able to compile quite the numbers during his career. It actually took him just five fewer games to reach this point than Abdul-Jabbar.
James was already the all-time leader in playoff points by a wide margin and now he adds this accolade to his already Hall of Fame-worthy career. James also ranks third in career playoff assists, but he has a very long way to go if he plans on passing another Lakers legend by the name of Magic Johnson.
During the season, James surpassed Kobe Bryant for most points scored by a player in a 15th season or later.
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