The 2022-23 season was one fans of LeBron James had marked as it was the year he could break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s longstanding record as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
For weeks, James inched closer and closer to the record as he routinely poured in points to keep the Los Angeles Lakers afloat in most games. Coming into the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, James just needed 36 points to make history and he did it in the third quarter after knocking down a fadeaway jumper.
It was a special moment for James and his family who were in attendance to watch him climb the mountaintop of NBA scoring. When asked after the game if he knew that he would break it that night, James admitted he did because he wanted to make sure his hometown friends who came to watch saw it before they left on a flight.
“Well yeah, because my boys leave in the red-eye tomorrow night, so…I just had the mindset, I had that mindset. I dressed for the occasion, like you said, put on the headband because that’s where the journey started. I would’ve had to pay for another room in a hotel for another night if I didn’t do it tonight because they would’ve had to stay until Thursday. But tomorrow is not promised and if I had an opportunity to do it tonight, I was gonna try to make it happen. And I was still super efficient. I wasn’t out there just gunning, I was still super efficient and I was able to get it done.”
James certainly made it seem like the game against Oklahoma City would be it as he dressed in all black, an ensemble that made the rounds on social media. Having his family and friends in attendance also must have provided some extra motivation to break the record, and all of them had something to say to him in touching video tributes once he accomplished the feat.
Regardless of his reasoning, James now stands alone at the top and has a chance to add to a record that fans may not see broken for a long time.
LeBron James reflects on sacrifices he made to break all-time scoring record
Through 20 years of hard work and dedication, James was able to do something that many considered impossible. That type of greatness doesn’t come easy, so James took some time to reflect on how much he’s had to go through in order to get to where he is now.
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