After Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James officially passed Kobe Bryant on the NBA's all-time scoring list, the Black Mamba himself immediately took it to Twitter to congratulate his fellow Laker.
Entering play on Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers, LeBron needed only 18 points to surpass Kobe's 33,643 points on the scoring list. He achieved the mark midway through the third quarter of the contest, attacking the basket and laying the ball in for his 17th and 18th point of the night.
LeBron is now only trailing Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) in the scoring list.
Kobe previously said that he wants LA to embrace and celebrate LeBron and his achievements with the team, and he certainly took the lead in that regard. He also mentioned a couple of days ago that he will call The King once he breaks his scoring record.
While LeBron had a hard time to get the acceptance of the LA community — particularly Kobe Bryant fans — it is quite clear now that the city and its fans have completely embraced him. Besides, the Lakers are dominating in the Western Conference and are legitimate title contenders with LBJ leading the way.
It remains to be seen if LeBron James will be able to move up further in the list, especially now that he's at his age-35 season. However, with the way he is playing and how he is taking care of his body, there's no reason to believe that he cannot do it.