LeBron James made history on Saturday night after he moved into 3rd place, passing Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant on the NBA's all-time scoring list. Despite coming up short against the Philadelphia 76ers, it was a special night for The King nonetheless.
When asked about what it means to have someone like Bryant watch him in the stands, James admitted it feels amazing, per Kyle Neubeck of The Philly Voice. James added about how he sees himself doing this in the future, perhaps to an up and coming star like Ben Simmons, who got the best of James and the Lakers on Saturday night.
LeBron James was asked about what it's like to have Kobe Bryant watching his games as a spectator rather than competing against him. In his response, he shouted out Ben Simmons as a guy he might be watching from the stands one day: pic.twitter.com/2TCpXQSnYr
ā Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) January 26, 2020
Kobe and LeBron obviously have mutual respect for each other. After James accomplished the feat and surpassed him on the scoring list, Bryant showed some love for The King on social media.
Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother šŖš¾ #33644
ā Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 26, 2020
James, likewise, paid his respects to Bryant by writing āMamba 4 Lifeā on his game-worn sneakers against the Sixers.
.@KingJames wrote "Mamba 4 Life" on his shoes as he has a chance to pass @kobebryant for third on the all-time scoring list š pic.twitter.com/9n6afaaXBR
ā ESPN (@espn) January 26, 2020
James made the historic bucket, his 18th point on the night, on a layup in the third quarter. Sixers fans at the Wells Fargo Center gave some love to the three-time NBA champion by giving him loud standing ovation during a timeout.
Unfortunately for LeBron, Ben Simmons and the Sixers spoiled his night with a convincing 108-91 home victory over the Lakers. Simmons led Philadelphia with 28 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and four steals, while going 12-of-15 from the field. James, meanwhile, finished his night with 29 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.
LeBron James and Ben Simmons have often been compared with each other with the similarities in their respective games as athletic and highly skilled passers for their size. While Simmons is obviously still far away from getting to where James is at this point ā and the heights that he got to in his career ā the Aussie-born point-forward is certainly taking the right steps in becoming a major force in this league.
He'll need to develop a jumper, though.
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