3 NBA records LeBron James created with 46 pts against LA Clippers
LA Lakers star forward LeBron James made history during the Lakers’ 133-115 blowout loss to the LA Clippers on Tuesday night.
James finished with 46 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals, one block and a career-high nine made 3-pointers on 55.2% shooting. In doing so, James set the following three NBA records:
#3 First player in NBA history to make 9+ threes in a game at age 35 or older
With his career-high nine made 3-pointers, James became the first player to make nine-plus threes at the age of 35 or older. James did so at the age of 38.
LeBron James is the first player in NBA history to make 9+ threes in a game at age 35 or older.
9 threes is also a new career high. https://t.co/hs5Ek8vvqy
#2 Tied Michael Jordan for most 45-point games at age 38 or older (3)
LeBron James’ 46 points against the Clippers also marked his third game with 45-plus points since he turned 38.
James previously scored 47 points versus Atlanta on December 30 and 48 against Houston on Januart 16. In doing so, James has now tied NBA legend Michael Jordan for the most 45-plus point games by a player at the age of 38 or older.
LeBron James now has three 45-point games at age 38+, tying Michael Jordan for most all-time 🙌 https://t.co/KLcyHRH6k7
#1 First player to score 40+ points against all 30 NBA teams
With his 46 points against the Clippers, James became the first player in NBA history to score 40-plus points against all 30 teams.
LeBron James has now scored 40+ points against every single team in the NBA…
Unbelievable. 🤯🤯🤯 https://t.co/g7hghCjuvS
Also read: LeBron James drops 40-pointer vs Clippers, has now scored 40 vs all 30 NBA teams as fans react: "Jordan never did this"
How many points does LeBron James need to become NBA’s all-time leading scorer?
Following LeBron James’ big scoring night, the star forward is now very close to making even more NBA history. James (38,210 points) is now only 177 points behind NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. That means James now just needs to score 178 more points to become the league’s all-time leading scorer.
Given that James is averaging 30.2 points per game this season, it should only take him around six more games to set the record. That means he should be able to do so around February 4 on the road against New Orleans.
There will obviously be a lot of anticipation for the historic moment. However, according to James, he isn’t thinking too much about the record yet and has no plans to rush it.
“I've got to this place by not even thinking about it,” James said. “Just being in the moment, trying to play the game the right way."