LeBron James passes Shaquille O’Neal for 3rd all-time in postseason field goals

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar has passed Shaquille O’Beal for third all-time in postseason field goals.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James has passed Shaquille O’Neal for third all-time in postseason field goals in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Here is the Shaq that got James past the Big Diesel, field goal number 2,042:

This comes just a game after James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for second all-time in postseason points and started knocking at the door of Jordan’s all-time postseason points record.

James, who passed Shaq’s former teammate Kobe Bryant for third in postseason points in Game 3 and field goals in Game 4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ previous series against the Indiana Pacers and, passed O’Neal in postseason points in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals series last year.

The Cavs were playing the Raptors then, too.

When James passed O’Neal last year, Abdul-Jabbar came and gave James a hug and a pat on the back. James had this to say about the encounter, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.

"“Obviously I saw a legend outside of our locker room and I slowed my pace up drastically [while running off the floor],” James said. “Just to embrace a legend being in our building, watching us play. What he did for the game, the championship runs that he had with the Showtime Lakers, him being the all-time-leading scorer in NBA history and so on and so on and so on.”“It’s just respect. When you see a guy like that and you put him in a class with like Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali and Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, it was a pretty cool moment.”"

Remember, this is the same man who James just passed in the record books last game.

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After passing O’Neal in the record books again, and after he just passed Abdul-Jabbar last game, it may be time to start looking at what James means to the NBA, the game of basketball and society in the way fans have looked at the way Ali, Robertson, Russell and Abdul-Jabbar have meant to their sport, to the fans that they inspired and to world, in general.

Those four aren’t just amazing athletes, they’re high-character athletes who were role models and activists. They were leaders.

James, who is one of the most outspoken athletes today, especially when it comes to societal issues involving race has been exactly what that quartet was.

Don’t believe me?

Ask me what he did at the ESPY’s last year standing beside Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade.

Ask the kids he sends to college through the LeBron James Family Foundation or the kids who will be attending his public school in Akron.

Ask anybody what off-the-court trouble he’s gotten into and what they’d be able to name. They’d probably be stuck with mumbling something about him taking his talents to South Beach.

Years from now, the NBA won’t just miss what James could do on the court. They’ll miss having an athlete of James’ stature who kept his nose clean, his head up and his pocketbook open for the unlucky and his mouth open for the unfortunate.

They’ll miss having a player who was at the top of his sport giving back to the community and representing ideals that should be the foundations of society.

Family. Equality. Loyalty.

Greatness.

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