Twenty years into his legendary career, LeBron James continues to produce moments like no other. As the clock began to wind down in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s game, the Los Angeles Lakers forward hit a jumper from the top left corner of the paint. Not only did the shot up his scoring total for the night to 36 points, but it also marked the moment he would break the NBA’s all-time scoring record.
The world watched patiently as James made history. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and many others sat courtside and gave the Akron, Ohio native a standing ovation. Unfortunately, all of his peers, friends and loved ones could not be in Los Angeles on February 7, so they sent in a few special messages and tweets. Rihanna, Kevin Durant, Drake and Steph Curry were just a few of the people that put together a special tribute for the four-time NBA champion.
“I want to personally thank you LeBron for trusting [and] believing in me [and] the Lakers in 2018 when I was president of basketball operations. Everything you said you would do, you’ve done. [You have] led the Lakers to a championship, elevated the Lakers brand [and] gave back to the city of LA,” five-time NBA Champion Magic Johnson tweeted.
“Unbelievable! Congrats, LeBron James,” NBA Champion Dirk Nowitzki commented.
“Legendary stuff right there,” four-time NBA Champion Steph Curry added.
James’s performance on Tuesday night was not an anomaly for the 39-year-old forward. He’s scored more than 35 points in four of his last eight outings. For the regular season thus far, he’s averaged 30 points per game while shooting 30.8% from beyond the arc and 50.5% from the field.
"This is one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history."
Some of the best to ever do it congratulate @KingJames ? pic.twitter.com/3nNvmKVYAo
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 8, 2023
