“I’ve been putting myself in a position where I’ve been successful for majority of my career” - LeBron James claims surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record is not on his mind
LeBron James surpassed Karl Malone to go second all-time on the NBA's lead scorers list on Saturday during the LA Lakers-Washington Wizards game. The 37-year-old now only trails former Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time regular-season scoring record.
Speaking about his scoring achievements after the Wizards' match, James claimed that breaking Abdul-Jabbar's record isn't something he would be thinking of moving forward. The Lakers star emphasized that he would continue to play the game the right way and to his team's benefit, letting individual accomplishments come by naturally as always.
"I would not allow myself to think of it," said LeBron James regarding breaking Kareem's record (via Spectrum SportsNet). "I've always just played the game the way I've been playing over the years and these things have just happened, organically by just going out and playing the game the right way."
James continued:
"I've been putting myself in a position where I've been successful for the majority of my career. So I hope to accomplish that (Kareem's record) at some point in my career, but I won't think about it too much, pretty much until we get there, hopefully."
LeBron James' tally stands at 36,974 points. He is averaging close to 30 points per game this season, and if he stays healthy next year, he could break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record midway through the 2022-23 campaign.
"I do it for my family, my friends, and my hometown..." @KingJames on what passing Karl Malone for second place in the all-time scoring list means to him. https://t.co/dbgF76nA8H
LA Lakers lose on LeBron James' historic night
The LA Lakers have now failed to win consecutive games since January 7th. They were on course to break that jinx against the Washington Wizards on Saturday but couldn't hold on to their 16-point advantage, losing the tie 119-127. The Wizards returned in the fourth quarter to outscore the Lakers 20-34. Kristaps Porzingis scored 16 of his 27 points in that period to lead Washington's charge.
LeBron James put in another solid performance as he tallied 38 points, ten rebounds and six assists, shooting 16 of 29 from the floor, including four 3-pointers. The Lakers are now once again 11 games below the.500 mark, with a 30-41 record.
https://t.co/EC1vXfsrUq
Nevertheless, Frank Vogel's men have been more efficient on both ends of the floor in their last two games, so they do have something to build off on over their last 11 games of the regular season.
It will be an uphill task, though, as they may have to cope with the absence of Anthony Davis before the play-in tournament begins. The 29-year-old center has been on the sidelines since the All-Star break because of a midfoot sprain and has played only 36 games this season.