LeBron James has made another historical victory in his basketball career. He passed Karl Malone‘s all-time score of 36,928 points.
James officially scored 36,947 points this past Saturday in a difficult defeat against the Washington Wizards. He stands in second place behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 38,387 points.
He released a statement after beating Malone’s score. “Just to be part of this league the many years I’ve been a part of it and being linked to some of the greatest who’ve ever played this game and guys I’ve ever watched or studied or read about or aspired to be like … I’m just always lost for words for it,” James said. “It’s an honor for myself, for my hometown, for my family and friends to be able to live these moments throughout this journey. And that’s exactly who I do it for.”
James scored his historic basket with an assist from Stanley Johnson and received a standing ovation after throwing his hand in the air in recognition and gratitude.
Even Carmelo Anthony talked about his teammates’ victory. “I’m still in awe to be alongside him while he’s still doing what he’s doing at a high level.” Anthony got drafted in the same class as James and stands in ninth place of scoring.
He continued, “Especially coming from somebody who was not, you know, ‘known’ for, as they say, scoring. Now to have the chance to be the No. 1 all-time scorer in the history of the NBA, somebody who has been doing it for 19 seasons at an all-time high, and somebody who just embraced the moment. He’s been doing that his whole career.”
“When I was younger, I used to think, ‘Ain’t nobody catching Karl Malone. Nobody catching Kareem,” Anthony added.
When asked whether he was concerned about catching up with Jabbar’s score, James said he wasn’t going to “think about it.”
“I will not allow myself to think about it. I’ve always just played the game the way I’ve been playing it over the years, and these things have just happened organically by just going out and just playing the game the right way. Trying to win every game, playing the right way, playing for your teammates and things of that nature.”
James concluded, “So I hope to accomplish that at some point in my career, but I won’t think about it too much pretty much until we get there, hopefully.”
