On Wednesday night, LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers into Portland to take on Damien Lillard and the Trail Blazers. James is heading the young Lakers’ roster, and went into the game needing 39 points in order to tie Wilt Chamberlain for 5th all time on the NBA scoring list.
LeBron went into the game and dominated the game, scoring 44 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out 9 assists, and recording 1 steal and 3 blocks. He did this while efficiently shooting 13 for 19 from the field, as well as 5 for 6 from the three point line.
King James dominated the game from start to finish and continues to move himself up different all-time lists. Passing Wilt Chamberlain, arguably the most dominate player in basketball history, is no small feat. Next up on the scoring list is Michael Jeffrey Jordan, the basketball ghost that LeBron has been chasing for his entire career.
James will presumably pass Jordan on the scoring list later this year, as he is currently only about 800 points behind the Bulls legend. Next season is when he should catch Kobe Bryant for third all-time. Then, he will only be behind Jazz great Karl Malone and the man with the most unstoppable shot in basketball history, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is first on the NBA scoring list.
In all estimations, barring injury or an unforeseen rapid decline in skill or ability, LeBron James will go down in history at number one on the all-time scoring list. It will take until his Lakers contract is up in four years, or maybe even the year after, but mark my words: it will happen.
What is so remarkable about James’ ability to score, is that it is not his strongest asset. People will argue about it all day long, but LeBron is not score first player, he is a floor general, through and through. He is a scorer out of athleticism and necessity, and has honed his scoring ability to be one of the best all-around offensive players to ever grace this game.
LeBron James ranks 11th in the NBA record books in assists, which is astounding because the other 24 members of the top 25 are all point guards, compared to James being a forward. LeBron has a chance to finish in the top 5-10 spots on the assist list, further cementing his dominance in the NBA.
LeBron currently ranks 59th in the history books when it comes to all-time rebounds, yet he will most certainly finish top-45 in this category. This will say a lot about James as the only non power forward/centers in the top-50 in rebounds are Dr. J, Elgin Baylor, and Shawn Marion, who averaged 10 rebounds a game for his career.
Bron is also the only player ever with 30,000 career points, 8,000 career rebounds, and 8,000 career assists which says enough by itself. He will keep breaking records, and continue to dominate this league for the foreseeable future, or at least as long as he wants to.
