The Los Angeles Lakers couldn't escape the nation's capital with a victory, but LeBron James did come away with yet another big piece of NBA history.
The Lakers star took sole possession of second place on the all-time leading scorers list, passing Karl Malone with this quick cut and finish at the rim:
Number 6 = number 2 👑
LeBron James has passed Karl Malone to become the No. 2 All-Time scorer in NBA history 🙌🏻pic.twitter.com/1eaAhRzIFq
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 20, 2022
While the Lakers certainly showed frustration over yet another loss, their fourth in their last five games, LeBron's teammates in Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony were still able to appreciate the accomplishment for what it was. A loss will quickly be forgotten by the next game, but LeBron James' place in history will never be erased.
Via Spectrum Sportsnet:
“To be able to play the game at a high level for so many years and to be able to just embrace everything that's come his way along his journey, it's an amazing feat just to witness overall and see him constantly keep climbing up the ladder,” said Russell Westbrook at the Lakers postgame presser. “That's pretty crazy to see to have that many points over so many years. It's just a great accomplishment.”
Russell Westbrook isn't too shabby of a scorer in his own right. The Lakers point guard ranks 33rd on the all-time scoring list with 23,120 and is 58 points away from leapfrogging Elgin Baylor, Dwyane Wade, and Adrian Dantley to crack the top 30 list.
Carmelo Anthony has long been considered one of the NBA's most lethal scorers ever. He's been climbing up the ladder as well, sitting at ninth all-time with his 28,218 total. He also weighed in on King James' historic bucket for second all-time in NBA history.
“I'm still in awe to be alongside while he's still doing what he's doing at a high level. Especially coming from somebody who was not “known” for as they say “scorer”. Someone who has the chance to be the all-time leading scorer in the history of the NBA. Somebody who's been doing it for 19 seasons at an all-time high. And somebody who just embraced the moment. That's what he's been doing his whole career.
Melo is currently just a couple hundred points behind Lakers icon Shaquille O'Neal for the eighth spot. If he plays just one more season, he's more than likely to pass Shaq and is a few more playing years away from joining the ultra exclusive 30K points club. To be in such rarefied air isn't lost on the Lakers veteran, which makes LeBron James' accomplishment all the more impressive to him.
“For him to pass Karl Malone on that list, when I was younger I used to look at the list and be like ‘nobody catching Karl Malone' or ‘nobody catching Kareem'. But when you in it in quick time and you see it, you just got to take your hat off to LeBron for what he's been doing,” the Lakers vet continued.
The season in a vacuum has been one to forget for the Los Angeles Lakers thus far. But what LeBron James has been doing can't be dismissed as anything short of spectacular in his 19th season of action.
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