"You were supposed to stop the game" - Kevin Garnett takes shot at NBA for not giving LeBron James' 40k spotlight it deserved
When LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time scoring leader, officials paused play for the achievement. With 10.9 seconds left in the third, play paused for the NBA and the LA Lakers to honor the four-time NBA champ. With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and plenty of others in attendance, the moment was a historic one.
The way Kevin Garnett sees things, when LeBron James became the first player to surpass 40,000 career points, the league should have once again paused play to honor his achievement. Instead, the moment came & went, and while those in attendance and the broadcasting team were both praising James, play didn't stop.
During a recent episode of KG Certified for Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson's All The Smoke Productions, Garnett made the case for the NBA to stop play. Given that no other player in history has made it to 40,000 points, Garnett believes that the occasion should have been a moment to pause:
"You were supposed to stop the game. You were supposed to pay homage. And when we go to fucking Massachusetts (HOF), that jersey, shoes, we're going to have a whole display of the 40,000. Not only the ball, but the jersey, the shoes, the socks. If the n***a wore a jock strap, whatever.
"The fuck he had on for 40,000. Lord, it's going to be in it's own case. And if not, man, the league is behind it, bro. 40,000. We never. Nobody, nobody, nobody. Nobody's ever seen 40."
Looking at LeBron James' journey to 40,000 points, and whether he can reach 50,000 points
LeBron James has continued to make history throughout his 21-year career. In addition to being the league's all-time leading scorer, he has continued to climb the league's all-time assists leaderboard as well.
As many have pointed out thanks to infographics that have continued to circulate around the internet, LeBron James' journey to 40,000 points has been a steady climb. It took James 368 games to reach 10,000 points, and similarly it took him another 358 to reach 20,000 points.
In the second half of his career, James kept up this pace, taking another 381 games to reach 30,000 points, and another 368 to reach 40,000 points. This remarkable stat shows that not only has James scored at an impressive rate for a player who considers himself pass-first, it also shows his longevity.
Despite being in year 21, LeBron James has continued to keep up the same pace that he scored at through his first 10,000 and 20,000 points. At the rate he's going, LeBron James would need to play for about five more seasons in order to reach 50,000 points.
Although he's shown in the past he's more than capable of surprising fans despite his age, the odds of him playing for another five years seem slim.