The NBA’s annual All-Star Weekend is approaching in Salt Lake City and LeBron James will represent the Los Angeles Lakers. It is LeBron’s record 19th appearance in the All-Star game and sixth straight game as captain. His 19th appreance passes Kobe Bryant and ties Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in NBA history.
It’s not the first time in the last month that LeBron’s tied one of Abdul-Jabbar’s records. James, of course, passed Kareem for most points in NBA history earlier this month. It was a record that stood for nearly 40 years, one that many never expected to be broken.
LeBron received lots of congratulations across the sports world after breaking the record against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers organized a pregame ceremony in their next game to honor James becoming the new scoring leader. He was joined by multiple members of his family and gave a short speech before tip-off.
It seems that won’t be the final ceremony LeBron will receive this season. New details have emerged about the NBA’s plans for a halftime one during the All-Star Game on Sunday, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic:
Vin Diesel will do the player intros for the NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, while Post Malone will perform before tip-off Sunday, a league source said. NBA will honor LeBron James at halftime for setting the scoring record, after a performance by Burna Boy, Tems, and Rema.
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) February 15, 2023
Details have not been made available regarding the structure of the ceremony. It will also come after performances by two artists, which could make the halftime length rival that of the Super Bowl’s.
When Kareem broke the record on the road in 1984, he did receive a pre-game ceremony before the Lakers’ next game. However, there are no records of him being honored during that year’s All-Star game.
Since the record has grown in age and aura, more attention was brought to it this previous year. For context, Stephen Curry was not honored during the NBA All-Star game last season after becoming the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals.
LeBron has said before he believes he can still play a couple of years in the NBA. Therefore, there is a chance his scoring record eclipses 40,000 points — a figure that may never be reached. However, the same was said about Kareem’s record.
Some within Lakers organization are concerned about running LeBron into the ground
Even with all of LeBron’s greatness, it is coming at a costly price. James recently missed a week with left ankle soreness, an injury he’s been dealing with the entire season.
The 38-year-old has had seemingly no time to relax too. He’s averaging 36 minutes per game, the seventh most in the NBA, leaving some within the Lakers worried he is being run into the ground. Ensuring LeBron is healthy in the final weeks of the season is imperative, but so are wins as this team looks to get back into postseason contention.
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