Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James Is The Youngest Player To Reach 28,000 Points

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James is the youngest player in the NBA history to reach 28,000 points.

LeBron James became the youngest player to reach 28,000 points last night, as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New York Knicks 111-104. James, who started the contest with 27,988 points, reached the 28,000-point-plateau on this shot.

This shot, one that’s become a staple of James’ offense, is a jumper that may have clanged off the rim last year or at other points of his lengthy career. That this shot was the one to put him in the at the head of a class that only includes NBA legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Dirk Nowitzki and Shaquille O’Neal, is perfect. Long-criticized for his ability to make shots outside of the paint, James has identified a number of “money” areas where he can knock down a jump shot with efficiency.

He’s shooting 58.7 percent on jumpers from the left baseline.

He’s shooting 45.0 percent on jumpers from the left elbow.

He’s knocking down 43.5 percent of his jumpers from the top of the free-throw circle.

Where James is shooting in the above clip? James has knocked in 40.5 percent of his jumpers from there.

He’s knocking in 35.5 percent of his threes from above the break on the left side and 36.8 percent of his threes from above the break on the right side.

Last year, James only had two areas outside of the paint where he was knocking down shots with efficiency, not six.

The reason James, who isn’t a pure shooter, has managed to reach 28,000 points in a shorter time frame than any other player is because of his ability to hit shots from outside the paint with regularity. Sure, James has never had a serious injury and yes, James is possibly the most versatile scorer in the NBA today. Yet, if James didn’t keep shooting, he wouldn’t have passed Kobe Bryant as the youngest player in the NBA to reach 28,000 points. When Bryant reached that milestone, at 33-years-old he had nine seasons of shooting under 34.0 percent from three-point range. James had seven.

Because Bryant was in the league a year before James despite not starting in his first two professional seasons, both Bryant and James played about the same amount of minutes between their rookie season and their 28,000th point. What gives James a full year’s advantage of scoring on the volume shooter Bryant is, in all actuality, his three-point ability.

Crazy right? James, the man whose “LeBron Rules” call for teams to let him shoot jumpers, has passed Bryant in the record books because of his jump shot. Maybe teams need to start updating that rulebook. Or people needs to change the narrative that James can’t shoot.

Related Story: LeBron James And Carmelo Anthony's Tried And True Friendship

Why do you think LeBron James is such an elite scorer? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.