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Lakers' LeBron James Among Many Praising Alex Ovechkin’s NHL Goals Milestone

Los Angeles superstar LeBron James celebrated Alex Ovechkin's big moment.
Alex Kirschenbaum|
Apr 6, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA: Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) is honored with a painting by artist Tony Harris by former Canadian-American ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky after scoring in the during the second period against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. Ovechkin scored the 895th goal of his career, breaking the NHL all-time career goals record previously held by Wayne Gretzky at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Apr 6, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA: Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) is honored with a painting by artist Tony Harris by former Canadian-American ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky after scoring in the during the second period against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. Ovechkin scored the 895th goal of his career, breaking the NHL all-time career goals record previously held by Wayne Gretzky at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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12-time All-Star Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin made hockey history on Sunday when he scored his 895th goal came, which arrived in his 1,487th career game, a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders.

That happened to be the same number of games that it took Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky to notch the previous record of 894 goals.

Gretzky himself was pulling for Ovechkin to shatter his own record as recently as last season, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. He was in attendance for the big moment.

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Gretzky delivered an emotional speech congratulating Ovechkin.

"We're here to celebrate this guy here, No. 8," Gretzky said. "I can tell you firsthand, I know how hard it is to get to 894 [scored goals]. 895 is pretty special. My congratulations to not only Alex, [but also] his mom and dad, his family, his wife and kids. When I broke the record, my two kids were the age of his boys, so it's kind of reminiscent for me, and I'm so happy that two of my boys are here tonight. But there's nothing better than the National Hockey League. They say records are made to be broken, but I'm not sure who's going to get more goals than that."

21-time All-Star Los Angeles Lakers power forward LeBron James, a man familiar with breaking records, quickly took to the web to issue his own celebration of Ovechkin's big moment.

"Congratulations, man, on being the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer. It's an unbelievable accomplishment, and I know when reaching any type of goal or any type of feat it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, dedication and sacrifice," James said. You're a byproduct of that."

In 2022-23, James surpassed former Hall of Fame Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading regular season scorer (he had already surpassed Abdul-Jabbar as the league's all-time leading cumulative scorer, in combined regular season and postseason points).

The 6-foot-9 superstar's lengthening record has now reached an astronomical tally of 42,115 regular season points. The four-time league MVP has now effectively left Abdul-Jabbar, a six-time MVP and six-time champ, in his dust. The former Showtime legend has logged 38,387 career regular season points scored.

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James has also notched 50,277 combined career playoff and regular season points, far outpacing Abdul-Jabbar's 44,149 combined sum.

"I just want to say from one guy to the next, super super grateful to be able to witness some of your greatest moments, witness this great moment, and it couldn't happen to a better guy, man," James raved. "To 'The Great 8,' congratulations, well-deserved, and salute to you, brother."

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Alex Kirschenbaum
ALEX KIRSCHENBAUM

Currently also a scribe for Newsweek, Hoops Rumors, The Sporting News and "Gremlins" director Joe Dante's film site Trailers From Hell, Alex is an alum of Men's Journal, Grizzlies fan site Grizzly Bear Blues, and Bulls fan sites Blog-A-Bull and Pippen Ain't Easy, among others.

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