Cavs News: LeBron breaks the record, rising stars, untouchables

LeBron James, the greatest athlete in the history of Cleveland sports and arguably the greatest basketball player in the history of the sport, entered last night’s home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder just 36 points shy of breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record. It was fitting that James would do so in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform, given the fact that the scoring title had been passed from Laker to Laker over the years.

39 years ago, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was playing for the Lakers when he passed Wilt Chamberlain, another former Lakers center, in April of 1984. Kareem would go on to play for five more seasons, pushing the mark impossibly high to 38,387 points. Michael Jordan didn’t make it that high (he made it to second), Karl Malone didn’t make it that high (he passed Jordan to finish roughly 1,400 points behind Kareem), Kobe Bryant didn’t make it that high (he passed Jordan as well, settling well behind Malone and Kareem).

The player who did make it that high was LeBron James, an unstoppable athletic force and insanely skilled point forward, a player who redefined what it meant to be a high school basketball star, then redefined what it meant to be a heliocentric star, then redefined what it meant to be a superstar player with agency over his own career. He was a trailblazer for how basketball and sports business are conducted today.

Along the way, he has won four championships with three different franchises, four MVPs, been on 19 All-Star rosters and, yeah, scored 38,390 points.

LeBron may have set the record wearing a Lakers jersey, but he will always be remembered first for his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers in two stints. The boy from Akron, Ohio scored 23,119 in a Cavaliers uniform, a total that would have ranked 39th all by itself, nestled between Elgin Baylor and Clyde Drexler.

All Hail the King. He has accomplished something great, and he deserves yet another moment in the spotlight. He has earned it.

Oh, go to Google.com and type in LeBron James. Even the Internet itself is celebrating The King.

More Cavs news

Evan Mobley has been selected to paly in the Rising Stars Game at the 2023 All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah in a couple of weeks. This year the NBA players were drafted onto three teams who will compete in a round-robin format with a G League squad:

Evan Mobley was the “first-round” pick of Joakim Noah and looks to be on an absolutely nasty defensive roster. The new format should get players more invested and ideally drum up a few good games.

As rumors swirl at the NBA Trade Deadline, it is helpful to know who is staying put. On the website this morning John Suchan takes a look at the Cavs’ 5 “untouchable” players. Dan Gilinsky also dug into trade target Cam Reddish to see what he would bring to the team.

NBA news

Cam Thomas would be the story of the night if LeBron James wasn’t playing, as the young Brooklyn Nets guard is having his moment under the sun. He has now scored 43 points or more in each of his last three games, a breakout that has to make the Nets feel better about trading Kyrie Irving. Only five other players have scored 43 points or more in three straight games over the past five seasons: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, James Harden (twice), Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. That’s incredible company. On an unrelated note, Kyrie Irving never did.

Unfortunately for Brooklyn (and fortunately for Cleveland), the Phoenix Suns pulled out the win in Deven Booker’s return after missing 21 games with a groin injury. The West also beat the East in the other two interconference matchups, with the New Orleans Pelicans dropping the Atlanta Hawks (Brandon Ingram dropped 30) and the Memphis Grizzlies annihilating the Chicago Bulls.

It also must be noted that on LeBron James’ big night, the Lakers were unable to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder at home, conceding 133 points and losing to a team they are neck-and-neck with in the fight for the postseason.

Coming up: Tonight at 7:00 PM ET the Cavaliers will host the Detroit Pistons.