Newsletter

Just 89 points left: “King” James in pursuit of the NBA’s points crown – US-SPORT NBA BASKETBALL

In the early 2000s, the Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the NBA’s least attractive teams to go unnoticed outside of Ohio. It was completely different with the team from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. The student team’s games from the small town of Akron, also in Ohio, were televised nationally by ESPN.

Because there a certain LeBron James had already become a star as a minor. Sports Illustrated magazine featured The Chosen One on an iconic cover. It was clear to everyone early on that college and the NBA weren’t the normal route for James. After high school, he entered the NBA draft and was selected first overall by his home team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After almost 20 years in the NBA, he is close to becoming the all-time points-scoring player in the NBA. SPORT BILD looks back on his way to the scoring record.

March 29, 2003 vs. the Kings- First points in the NBA

Everything was ready. The players were already on the floor, the referees were ready and the fans were in their seats. Then the tip-off of the game was postponed because the game before that lasted longer and ESPN wanted to broadcast it to the end. LeBron James was sitting on the “score table” in those minutes, all eyes were on him.

In the afternoon he sat at lunch with Moses Malone, who told him stories about his rookie season. “A year ago I watched it at the beginning of the season. Now I’m finally here. It’s a dream,” James said that night. “This will never get old. When it does, I’ll stop playing.”

After three minutes, James took his first throw from a difficult angle and converted it. The rookie hit his first three shots and finished his first quarter in the NBA with 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals.

March 27, 2004 vs. Brooklyn Nets – First 40-point game

After a slow start with just two points in the first quarter, James caught fire, throwing 11 in the second, 12 in the third and 16 in the fourth. He scored the final two points with a breakaway dunk with 1.9 seconds remaining. In doing so, he became the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 40 points in a game.

February 20, 2005 – First NBA All-Star Game

In his first NBA All-Star Game, 20-year-old LeBron James had 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. The boy from Akron arrived at the Pepsi Center in Denver as the second youngest starter in NBA All-Star Game history. The only player younger than LeBron was Kobe Bryant.

February 27, 2008 – 10,000 points passed

On February 27, 2008, the “King” became the youngest player ever to break the 10,000-point mark in a game against the Boston Celtics. James reached the 10,000 point milestone at the age of 23 years and 59 days, more than a year younger than Kobe Bryant, who reached that milestone in 2003 (24 years, 193 days).

“It doesn’t make me happy if I do that in a loss,” James said after the loss. “To be in the record books is a tribute to my teammates, myself and my family.”

March 21, 2008 – Top scorer in Cleveland Cavaliers history

Brad Daugherty was the all-time leading scorer in Cleveland Cavaliers history for 14 years. James passed him in the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors. It took Daugherty 548 games to score 10,389 points. James, who scored the most points in the NBA in the 2007-08 season, had 10,414 points after 380 games.

March 19, 2010 – 15,000 points passed

In the game against the Chicago Bulls, he scored 15,000 and 15,001 with two free throws. “I was born with a God-given gift,” he said after the game. “Hopefully I’ll keep staying healthy, and hopefully I’ll keep breaking records.” He reached the point mark at 25 years and 79 days.

08. Juli 2010 – The Decision

LeBron James announces in a nationally televised TV interview that he will join the Miami Heat. In Miami he formed a super team with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. It was the birth of the “Big Three” that led Miami to two championships. Many Cleveland fans were so angry that they burned their number 23 jerseys.

June 21, 2012 – First NBA Championship

LeBron James wins his first championship with the Miami Heat on the second try. In the first year, the Heat lost the finals series 4-2 to the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki. In 2012, they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1. James becomes Finals MVP for the first time.

January 16, 2013 – The “King” reaches 20,000 career points

When he hit a close-range shot with 2:45 left in the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors, he became just the 38th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points. Kobe Bryant, the previous record holder, reached that mark at 29 years and 122 days. James was 28 years and 17 days old – making him the youngest player ever to reach that mark.

“It means everything,” James said after hitting the milestone. “It means a lot. First of all, as I keep saying, it means I’ve been able to be healthy. I stand on the floor and do what I love to do: I love basketball and I try to give everything for the game. And hopefully it continues to give me that back.”

March 3, 2014 – Career high: 61 points in a game

In the 2013-14 season, James set a new personal record with 61 points in the Miami Heat’s 124-107 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. James hit 22 of 33 shots from the field, including his first eight 3-point attempts. James’ career-high was 56 points, which he scored for Cleveland against Toronto on March 20, 2005.

July 11, 2014 – The return to Cleveland

Four years after moving to South Beach, LeBron James decided he still had work to do in Cleveland and returned to his old team via free agency.

“When I left Cleveland, I was on a mission,” James said in an essay for Sports Illustrated. “I wanted to win championships and we won two. But Miami already knew that feeling. Our city has not had this feeling for a long, long, long time. My goal is still to win as many titles as possible, no question. But the most important thing for me is to bring a trophy back to Northeast Ohio.”

November 2, 2015 – Youngest player with 25,000 points

James broke the mark with an alley-oop from Matthew Dellavedova with 8:07 left in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers. He nearly had a triple-double (22 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds) in that win, becoming only the 20th player ever to have that number of points at the time.

He reached the 25,000 points at 30 years and 307 days. Kobe Bryant held the mark at 31 years and 351 days. After the game, the entire Philadelphia arena rose to a standing ovation for James.

June 19, 2016 – NBA Champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers

Two years after his return, LeBron achieved his big goal when the Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 4-3 in a historic series in the 2016 NBA Finals. Never before has a team been able to win from a 1-3 deficit.

“CLEVE-LAND! This is for you!” James roared in his post-game interview ahead of being named Finals MVP. The city had not celebrated a title in sports for 52 years.

January 23, 2018 – Youngest player with 30,000 points

The “King” scored his 30,000 in the 102-114 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Point one second before the end of the first quarter. He is only the seventh player to break this barrier. At 33 years and 24 days, James was the youngest player to reach that mark. Bryant was 34 years and 104 days when he reached that mark.

March 30, 2018 – LeBron James breaks Michael Jordan’s record

In the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 107-102 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in 2018, James had 27 points for his 867th consecutive double-digit score. Previously, Michael Jordan had held the record with 866 games in a row. Jordan’s streak lasted from March 25, 1986 to December 26, 2001, when he played for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards.

The last time James didn’t put up at least ten points was on January 5, 2007, when he had eight points against the Milwaukee Bucks. As the 2022-23 season begins, James’ double-digit tally is in 1,096 regular-season games.

For comparison: Abdul-Jabbar is third with 787 games, followed by Karl Malone with 575 games. Also, no active player is within striking distance of James’ streak.

March 6, 2019 – LeBron James overtakes Michael Jordan for 4th place in all-time points rankings

With 5:38 left in the second quarter, James hit his 32,294 layup, overtaking Michael Jordan on the all-time points list. An extremely significant moment for James, who adored Jordan.

During the ensuing timeout, as the Lakers recorded a tribute video, James covered his face with a towel and apparently cried. Just eight days earlier, James had moved up to 10th in the assists rankings, becoming the first player in league history to finish in the top 10 in both points and assists.

“A lot of things I’ve done in my career have that top of the list – along with winning a championship,” said James. “For a kid from Akron, Ohio in need of inspiration and a positive influence, MJ was perfect for me.”

January 16, 2023 – James is the second player to break 38,000 points

In the narrow 112:113 defeat of his Los Angeles Lakers against the Philadelphia 76ers, LeBron James (38) achieved another milestone: he cracked the 38,000 point mark. The “King” is only the second basketball player to reach that mark. LeBron James is just 89 points short of overtaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as of February 1, 2023.

So only a matter of time!

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending