Steve Kerr Reacts to Potential Record-Setting Night for LeBron James
Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has the opportunity to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in regular season and playoffs combined.
James, who has scored a total 44,131 points over the course of his 19-year career, is just 18 points away from tying Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
“That’s a spectacular statistic,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said before the Warriors and Lakers tipped off. “Maybe not one that’s going to be as celebrated as if it were the regular season record but that’s incredible when you think about all the players who have played in this league.”
While this is a different achievement than becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, which only counts regular season games and is currently held by Abdul Jabbar as well, James’ benchmark is nothing to scoff at.
Through 1,349 games, James has averaged 27.1 points per game. In addition, the four-time NBA Champion has played in 264 total playoff games where he’s averaged 28.7 points per game.
This season, at the age of 37, James has been able to keep that pace up by scoring 29.1 points per game in 39 games during the 2021-22 campaign.
“I feel like I’ve witnessed a lot of those post-season points,” Kerr said with a chuckle.
In all reality, Kerr’s comments weren't entirely hyperbolic. While James has played the Boston Celtics in the playoffs most in his career (41 games), he’s played the Golden State Warriors the second-most (22 games) all of which in the NBA Finals.
In those games, James has scored at least 40 points seven times, including a 51-point showing against the Warriors in Game 1 of the 2018 Finals.
“With people like Michael Jordan, who played in a million playoff games, it speaks to LeBron’s brilliance but also his longevity,” Kerr said. “I think it’s probably his most underrated quality is just the way he’s been able to take care of his body and continue to play at such a high level for so long.”
