LeBron James Breaking NBA Scoring Record About His 'Greatness,' Lakers' Buss Says
Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss praised LeBron James this week as he moves closer to breaking the all-time NBA scoring record.
With James a few games away from surpassing Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league's all-time leader in points, Buss told ESPN's Dave McMenamin:
"I think this is a record that really stands out among all the different records in the NBA. I mean, this is the all-time scoring record. But this is really about a career that LeBron has built through his hard work and determination and talent. And while we will take a moment to celebrate, this is really about LeBron and reflecting on all the sacrifices he's made to get to this point and to achieve this level of greatness.
"It's really about him. This is his record."
Entering Saturday's road game against the New Orleans Pelicans, James has 38,325 career points, 62 behind Abdul-Jabbar's record of 38,387.
Even at age 38, LeBron has been as good as ever this season, averaging 30.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game en route to his 19th consecutive All-Star selection.
If he stays on pace with his scoring average, James could break the scoring record in Tuesday's home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. If not, he'll likely set the mark against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday in Los Angeles.
According to Rory Carroll of Reuters, Abdul-Jabbar will be in attendance at Crypto.com Arena in L.A. for next week's matchups against the Thunder and Bucks.
If the record falls in one of those games, it would make for a memorable passing of the torch between two Lakers and all-time greats.
While LeBron may not surpass Michael Jordan's resume, which includes six championships and six NBA Finals MVP Awards in six Finals appearances, a case can be made for James as the greatest player of all time.
He has won four NBA MVP Awards, four NBA Finals MVP Awards and four NBA championships with three different teams—the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Lakers.
And given the continued high level of his play, he may obliterate the scoring record by the time his career comes to a close.
James is likely focused on getting the 25-28 Lakers into the playoff and championship races, but he deserves to have his legendary career celebrated when he becomes the scoring king.
