LOS ANGELES — From the No. 23 on his uniform to the turnaround, fadeaway shot he hit in the fourth quarter to reach the feat, LeBron James simultaneously honored Michael Jordan while also breaking his record for the most 30-point games in NBA history in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
“It’s very humbling,” James said after the Lakers won 119-102 at Crypto.com Arena for their eighth win in the past 11 games. “Anytime I’m mentioned with any of the greats, and arguably the greatest ever to play the game, super cool. It’s someone I idolized in my childhood, and I wear 23 because of him. So to know that I can sit here and be in the room or in the conversation or whatever it is, when you mention MJ, it’s just super-duper dope for me, being a kid from where I’m from.”
With an 18-foot jumper with 5:58 to play for the last of his 30 points, James reached at least 30 points in a regular-season game for the 563rd time in his career, breaking the record established by Jordan in 2003. Jordan set the record in 1,072 games over 15 seasons. James broke the mark in his 1,523rd game over 22 seasons.
Anthony Davis, who returned from an ankle injury to put up 18 points, 19 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks, ribbed James for needing so much time to pass Jordan.
“It took him seven more seasons,” Davis said, shooting a smirk in James’ direction. “But that’s obviously a hell of an accomplishment. I think he’s probably No. 1 f—ing everything at this point.”
James looked up to Jordan while growing up in Akron, Ohio, and when he passed Jordan for fourth place on the NBA’s career scoring list in March 2019, the moment moved him to tears on the Lakers’ bench. He called Jordan “an inspiration” and “the lightning in a bottle for me, because I wanted to be like him.”
When James was approaching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring mark two seasons ago, he joked that he could try to pass the all-time great by shooting Abdul-Jabbar’s signature skyhook.
His shot to secure 30 points Friday — a turnaround, fadeaway jumper along the left wing — was a patented move of Jordan’s.
Only with a twist.
“He was more of a left-shoulder fadeaway guy,” James said. “I kind of go the opposite way. But it’s two masters of their craft, putting in work and work and work to the point where it kind of becomes unguardable. It’s just work. It’s just work and dedication. … I watched MJ a lot and saw how on-balance he was, even though he was fading away from the basket. So I just wanted to try to match that as my career has grown in years.”
Coincidentally, James on Friday also passed Dirk Nowitzki (1,522) for the fourth-most NBA games played in the regular season.
James turned 40 last week, and he is among the few remaining active players who personally witnessed Jordan in his 1990s prime with the Chicago Bulls.
But James shows absolutely no signs of slowing in his record-tying 22nd season: He scored 38 points against Portland one night earlier to tie Jordan’s 30-point mark.
James hit seven 3-pointers against the Blazers while putting up the third-most points ever scored by a player over 40 — trailing only two games by Jordan with Washington shortly after he turned 40.
James became the NBA’s career scoring leader last season, and he holds several additional longevity records. He has scored at least 10 points in 1,253 consecutive games over the past 18 years, obliterating the record set by Jordan from 1986 to 2001 (866).
“It’s just another thing that he’s done in his career and certainly speaks to his greatness and longevity,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Added James: “I just love the game. … I still have a little bit left in the tank, so I guess I’ll go until it’s kind of empty, I guess.”
