So, yes, the Los Angeles Lakers have lost again, and the road to the play-offs will prove to be a tortuous one. But the main thing was elsewhere, on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday at the Staples Center (now called Crypto.com Arena). LeBron James is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. With now 38,390 points, the Goat has supplanted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s old record by two units. He needed 36 to do this, he finished with 38. At a press conference, the former Cleveland was on his cloud.
You are the best scorer in history. What emotion is going through you?
I don’t think I’ve realized it yet, actually. Obviously, when it happened, I wanted to embrace that moment, to see my family and my friends, all the people who have been with me since I started this journey, even before I played in the NBA. It was very moving. Even though I tried to fully live this moment, it was a bit confusing, but really cool.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was there to see you beat his record and pass the torch…
I think it’s great for basketball. I’m a game historian, I know like you what guys like Kareem, Wilt stand for [Chamberlain] and MJ [Michael Jordan]and Magic [Johnson]And [Larry] Bird, Oscar Robertson… I could talk all night about these legends. It is an honor to be in the same discussion with the greatest.
Where does this feat stand among all those you have accomplished?
The titles (he won four) remain at the top of the list. Because my culture is that of the championship, since the first day I played for a club, at the age of eight. Because I’m a team guy. But they are great teammates, great coaches who prepare you every day to be great yourself. I was able to do amazing things and I hope I can achieve more before I am done.
Your career is not over yet, but what is your view on these twenty years already spent in the NBA?
There’s a place near our house in Ohio, in Sandusky, called Cedar Point. And every year they created new roller coasters. And we would go there often, try them on and come out feeling so excited. We were like, I want to do it again. However, I see my career a bit like that, as one of the great rides of Cedar Point. Sometimes it turns your stomach, you get excited, you scream, sometimes you can’t, you can’t even breathe. But you still want to do it again. It is a pleasure, an honor to have, during these twenty years of career, been able to go through ups and downs, trials and to have always stayed at the top. I did it my way. I didn’t want to imitate anyone.
Do you think being the all-time leading scorer makes you the greatest player of all time?
Oh… Let’s say if I was a general manager of a starting franchise and I had the first choice, I would take myself. Because I believe in myself, I know what I bring. I am a guy who has been able to transform his game for twenty years, to excel in any position. I can play pivot point guard, I’ve been an assist leader, I’ve been able to do everything this game wanted me to do. But none of that takes anything away from anyone else. There have been so many great players… But I can’t take anyone but myself.