History will happen this week – the sort of history that only comes around once every generation or so, if we’re lucky.
LeBron James is going to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time NBA scoring record – probably either Tuesday against Oklahoma City or Thursday against Milwaukee.
He needs 36 points to ascend to the top of the scoring chart – a spot Abdul-Jabbar has owned since April 5, 1984, when one of his trademark skyhooks nestled into the basket against Utah at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. That pushed Abdul-Jabbar past Wilt Chamberlain’s 31,419 points.
He would finish at 38,387 points for his career.
Now, nearly four decades after Kareem’s moment, it is LeBron’s moment.
“It’s incredible for us to witness this,” Mavericks’ coach Jason Kidd said. “With the greatest player on the verge of breaking a record . . . To see it and we might have the fortune to be in LA if it does happen (Tuesday or Thursday). I think it’s just incredible. This is history. None of us will be able to see this again.”
While the Mavericks were at Golden State on Saturday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he could remember videos of Kareem’s shot that broke the record, a mark he and many others assumed would live beyond all of us.
“Pretty amazing,” Kerr said. “Most of us back then thought that record would never be broken. To see LeBron do it over the last 20 years is pretty remarkable. Great testament not only to his ability but his durability. He’s just a machine. He’s healthy and a physical force night after night.
“And I also appreciated that for most of his career he’s been more of a point forward than a scoring wing. So it’s ironic that the all-time leading scorer is a guy known for much of his career as a passer. It shows you how great he is and how versatile he is.”
Kidd had the good fortune of coaching James as an assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019-21, winning a championship with them in 2020 at the Disney World bubble.
Kidd still marvels that James is 38, but looks like he’s 25 when he’s performing on the court.
He also joked that talking to James about his scoring wasn’t a high priority.
“I never talked to him about scoring,” he said. “I talked to him about passing and that he needed to slow down with the assists. Maybe that’s why he jumped up with the points because I told him I would like to stay second (on the all-time assist list). The next person I got to talk to is Chris Paul, because he’s about to pass me.”
One of the keys to James’ scoring career was learning that the three-point shot was going to have to be a major part of his arsenal.
In his first eight seasons, James only shot 32.9 percent from three-point range. And he shot barely four triples per game.
As someone for whom shooting the three-ball became an acquired taste later in his career, Kidd could relate.
“He has the total game – being able to score, pass, rebound, defend,” Kidd said. “There had to be one area where he had to spend a little more time on or use it later in his career and that’s shooting the three. And making the adjustment to the game.
“The game has changed. When he first came into the league, it was about getting to the basket, getting to the free-throw line. Today, if you’re a shooter, you have to shoot five-plus threes to give your team a chance to win. And he’s made that adjustment. And as we get older we tend to figure out what’s the easiest way to score. Sometimes, it’s shooting the three because you don’t have to move.”
Kerr said he had a strong memory of when James arrived as a dangerous three-point threat.
“The Spurs and Miami in the Finals and the year Ray Allen hit the shot (in Game 6 in 2013) and Miami came back and won,” Kerr said. “I thought that was a turning point in his career as far as the shooting was concerned. The first four or five games of that series, San Antonio was going under every pick and roll, daring him to shoot.
“The last couple games of that series, he made a bunch of threes and looked like he was really confident doing so. Since then, he’s been a really good three-point shooter.”
It’s also worth noting that James averaged more than 40 minutes per game four seasons early in his career, which should send a strong message to players in this generation that normally don’t go much past 36 or 38 minutes per game.
Plus, very few players have had James’ physical gifts – and been able to maintain them through two decades.
“You could tell he had a knack for passing, playmaking,” Kerr said. “It didn’t take long to see how good he was and how powerful he was. I think the most impressive thing was seeing his growth because he was so young when he came in. He had a lot of room for growth as a person and a player and he just crushed it in both areas.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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