On Tuesday February 7th, 2023, LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers’ forward, shattered a 39-year-old monumentally remarkable achievement that had been set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. James overtook the iconic Abdul-Jabbar’s career NBA scoring record of 38,387 points.
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James broke the record on a miraculous fadeaway 2-pointer during the last seconds of the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder, sending the audience into a frenzy. As he started jogging back towards the other basket, James flung his arms out as if he was flying and welcomed the cheering fans with a celebratory rise of his arms, gazing up at the thousands of people who had come to see him.
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Abdul-Jabbar, with his #33 jersey proudly displayed on his black jacket, embraced James warmly when he entered the court alongside N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver. Despite James’ outstanding game, scoring 38 points, propelling his career total to an impressive 38,390, the Thunder emerged victorious with a final score of 133-130.
James lingered on the court even after the game was over to chat with members of the media and to greet his special guests – the loving friends whom he had known since childhood, and the business associates who had been loyal to him for quite some time. After exchanging greetings with rapper Jay-Z and actor Denzel Washington, James made his way to the locker room where he took a seat to bask in the moment. His two sons Bronny and Bryce James later made their way into the locker room to celebrate with him.
Bronny proudly showed his father the cellphone video he had taken of James’ record-breaking shot. “Which one of y’all is gonna try to break my record?” James asked with a big smile. “It’s gonna have to be two and three!” Bronny replied, to which Bryce shook his head in agreement . “Oh, y’all gon’ be two and three,” James said.