Lakers' LeBron James Becomes NBA's All-Time Scoring Leader, Mike Brown Reflects
HOUSTON — LeBron James is now the NBA's All-Time leading scorer.
James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record Tuesday night during the Los Angeles Lakers 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder inside Crypto.com Arena.
James broke the record with a fadeaway jumper over the top of Thunder's Kenrich Williams with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter. Abdul-Jabbar has held the all-time scoring record since April 1984.
James' record is a testament to the greatness he has sustained for 20 years. And Sacramento Kings' coach Mike Brown could attest to James' greatness at a young age.
"Even at a young age he was way ahead of his time," Brown said. "Being able to be around one of the greatest, if not the all-time greatest, was a joy to me. He helped me have a lot of early success in my coaching career. And I will always be forever indebted to him and his family for that."
Brown spent five seasons coaching James with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 through 2010.
He witnessed James win the first of four MVPs (2009 and 2010). And together, they led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007, where they lost in four games to the San Antonio Spurs.
Brown said James' attribute as a facilitator has made his latest achievement "more unbelievable." His sentiment coincides with Houston Rockets' coach Stephen Silas, who was more enamored by James' playmaking and high basketball IQ as a rookie in 2003.
James is currently fourth all-time on the NBA's assists list. He surpassed Steve Nash and Mark Jackson on Jan. 31. James is the only player in the top five all-time in points and assists.
"He is one of the all-time greatest passers," Brown said. "His skill set and vision rival Magic Johnson, especially at that size. There are a lot of things that you can throw on it to make it sweeter than it sounds, but it is unbelievable."
James has scored 1,006 career points in 39 games against the Rockets. His best performance against Houston came in a Lakers' win on Jan. 16. He scored 48 points (16-26 FG, 5-10 3PT) to lift Los Angeles to a 140-132 victory.
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