2 days later, LeBron still feels scoring record is ‘surreal’

LOS ANGELES(AP) — LeBron James took the microphone at center court under aspotlight Thursday night, and all the fans who guessed wrong roseto unleash a mighty roar.

Two daysafter James became the NBA’s scoring king, the achievement wasstill a thrill to him. In a pregame ceremony, he got to share itwith the Lakers faithful who bought tickets one game too late tosee it in person.

James pausedto gather his thoughts while the three scoreboard ribbons runningthe circumference of the Lakers’ downtown arena all rotated thesame message: “LeBron James — NBA All-Time Leading Scorer.”

“As I sit uphere and look at this thing going around right now, it’s just sosurreal to me,” James said. “But the one thing I know for sure isthat I’ve never cheated the game of basketball. And I would nevercheat the game of basketball, because it’s given so much to myself.It’s given so much to my family.”

Two daysafter he broke the record, James was still basking in theachievement of a lifetime — and even the fans who bought ticketsfor the Lakers’ meeting with the Milwaukee Bucks instead of theirgame against Oklahoma City on Tuesday night got a memory for theirefforts.

The Lakersheld a brief ceremony to recognize James, who was sitting out theirfirst game since the record to rest his sore left foot andankle.

Momentsbefore James took the court, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar offered histhoughts on James’ place in the game’s history after breakingAbdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points, a mark that had stood fornearly 39 years.

“The game hashad eras, and LeBron, without a doubt, is the greatest player ofhis era,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “And that era is right behind that ofShaquille (O’Neal), Michael Jordan. There are people that dominatedthe game, and then there are people that capture everybody’simagination. I think that’s what Michael Jordan did. Everybodywanted to be him, to do what he did.”

Abdul-Jabbarnoted the folly of the so-called G.O.A.T debates, noting that erasin basketball vary wildly.

“How manypeople in here saw Sweetwater Clifton play? I didn’t. Most of usdidn’t,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “He was awesome, but that was back inthe early ’50s, without the 24-second clock. ... I think the reasonthey have sports bars with all those TVs is so people can go inthere and argue like this, because we’re not going to findout.”

James’ placein the game’s history is already secure as he attempts to revivethe Lakers’ playoff chances deep in his 20th NBA season. James’left ankle has periodically forced him to miss games this season,including six since November.

On court in asharp suit, James was in a reflective mood: He recalled theChristmas before his fourth birthday in 1988 in Akron, Ohio, as themoment he fell in love permanently with the game when his mother,Gloria, bought him a kiddie hoop and a small basketball.

“From thatmoment on, I knew that orange sphere was something that I alwayswanted to be a part of my journey,” James said. “Who would haveknown? Someone said on social media that that was the biggestinvestment in the history of mankind. A $20 Little Tikes hoop couldturn into what it’s turned into today. Mom, thank you so much.”

James wasalso in an appreciative mood with his mother in attendancealongside his three children and his wife, Savannah.

“That’s mystarting five right there,” James said. “Savannah ... she’s thereal MVP, if you want to be completely honest. She’s the all-timeleading scorer, if you want to be completely honest. My boys wouldsay they are the all-time leading scorers, but I don’t thinkSavannah will allow that tonight.”

James thenaddressed the Lakers’ fans, who have embraced a longtime rival eversince he arrived in 2018. He assumed an exemplary public leadershiprole for the franchise in the wake of Kobe Bryant’s death in 2020 —and later in the year, he led Los Angeles to its 17thchampionship.

“My family iseverything to me, and you guys over the last five years have becomefamily to me as well, so thank you to the Laker faithful,” Jamessaid. “You guys are unbelievable, and every night I step on thefloor, I truly understand what it means to represent the LosAngeles Lakers.”

James’absence and the Lakers’ flurry of trades over the past two daysleft them with only nine players in uniform when they faced thepowerhouse Bucks.

Los Angelestraded away Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Thomas Bryant,Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones while acquiring D’AngeloRussell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba and DavonReed.

The moves arean attempt to salvage another disappointing year for James and theLakers, who have foundered at the back of the Western Conferencepack all season long with Anthony Davis struggling through hisannual injury problems. The 13th-place Lakers fell to 25-30 withtheir 133-130 loss to Oklahoma City on James’ historic night.