The NBA has never quite seen a career like that of Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. In his year 23 season, James is still stamping his name in the record books and furhter cementing his legacy.
On Thursday, in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, James passed another Lakers legend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, on the all-time field goals list, witha turnaround fadeaway.
“Just to be able to link my name to being mentioned with some of the greatest to ever play this game has always been humbling and a pretty cool thing,” James said after the game, according to ESPN.
“I grew up watching, reading [about], idolizing a lot of the greats, and if I ever was able to be part of the NBA, I wanted to put myself in position that I can be named with some of the greats by doing something right. So it’s pretty cool.”
James said that he worked the turnaround shot into his game after losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.
“It’s one of my patented shots,” James said. “It’s something I’ve worked on throughout my career. So to be able to have that ability to make that shot is pretty cool.”
“Obviously, it’s a pretty cool feat, but it’s hard for me to kind of wrap my head around it or what it looks like,” James said about passing Abdul-Jabbar. “It’s something that I never had a goal to have that record. I came into this league understanding that I had to start from scratch. As the No. 1 player in the country, I had to start from scratch and get myself up that plateau of being the No. 1 player in the world again. So that was my only mindset.”
James added, “I don’t know how many players have played in the NBA, but it’s the greatest players in the world. And for my name to be mentioned with the greats and be at the top of it is awesome.”
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.