

LeBron James, 33, continues to break barriers, but now, he’s reached a major milestone as a Laker. He passed Wilt Chamberlin, for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list Wednesday night (November 14) against the Portland Trailblazers. James first tied Chamberlain on an and-1 with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter, then passed him on the free throw. James has now reached 31,420. Chamberlain reached 31,419. Now, James sits directly behind Michael Jordan (32,292), Kobe Bryant (33,643), Karl Malone (36,928), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
James finished the game with a near triple double — 44 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists — to help Los Angeles’ 126-117 win at Staples Center. This also marks his first 40-point game of the season and the most by a Laker since Kobe Bryant scored 60 in his career finale. James is also the first Lakers player to surpass the 40-point mark since D’Angelo Russell in 2017.
The 14-time All-Star kicked off the game hot from beyond the arc, making his first five 3-pointers. But, it was in the third quarter when he really took over. James had 16 of the team’s 38 points to help the Lakers build on their halftime lead. James sat out in the beginning of the fourth, before re-entering the game with seven minutes left. He made all eight of his fourth-quarter free throws, including the two from the flagrant foul on Portland’s C.J. McCollum — an impressive change after shooting poorly from the line, even calling himself “garbage” after he previously missed two key free throws in a prior game.
The and-1 that put @KingJames ahead of Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time NBA scoring list. pic.twitter.com/5IBqiv4Cli
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 15, 2018
James exited the game to a standing ovation from the Staples Center crowd, and respectively, the game ball. After the game, James said that the game ball and the jersey he wore would go to “I Promise”, the school he recently opened in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
“I give it all to the man above for giving me these God-given abilities. I’m taking full advantage of them. And then my coaching staff and my teammates throughout these 16 years so far that’s gotten me to this point,” James said after his best game as a Laker.
“I don’t know how I feel right now,” he continued. “I’m happy we were able to get another win. But any time my name is mentioned with some of the greats that have played this game, I always think back to my hometown, where I come from and how far I’ve come.”
In the post game, James also praised another Laker great, Shaquille O’Neal. “One of the most dominant forces we ever had in our game along with Shaq,” he said. “One of the greatest Lakers ever to play the game. One hundred point scorer. One of the greatest scorers, rebounders to ever play this game. Multi-sport/dimensional type of athlete. People had never seen something like that in that era. So just dominant in all walks of life, not only just basketball but period.”
James’ teammates, as well as Lakers great and president of basketball operations of the team, Magic Johnson showered him with praise online after his big game. “Congratulations to @KingJames for passing Laker great Wilt Chamberlain to become 5th all-time leading scorer in NBA history!”, Magic tweeted.