LeBron James made history by becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Tuesday and gave his verdict on the topical ‘GOAT’ debate.
In the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, James scored his 36th point of the night to smash Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record that stood for more than 38 years.
The 38-year-old, who is currently in his 20th season as an NBA player, is showing no sign of slowing down and is one of seven players in the league averaging 30 or more points a game.
Towards the back end of LeBron’s career, the GOAT (greatest of all-time) debate has become ever-prevalent as fans of the sport explore which of James or six-time champion with the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan, is greater.
The 19-time All-Star told OCR that he believes he is the best to ever play the game but isn’t sure what the scoring record will do for his legacy.
“What I bring to the table as a basketball player … I feel like I’m the best basketball player that ever played the game.
“That’s just my confidence, that’s just what I bring to the table, what I possess. But as far as if the scoring record gets me to another level, I don’t know.”
“If I was the GM of a franchise that was starting up and I had the No. 1 pick, I’d take me.”
– LeBron on the GOAT debate pic.twitter.com/CBQDxbvpai
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) February 8, 2023
According to NBA betting sites, James possesses the sixth-best odds to win league MVP for a fifth time at +5000 but faces stiff competition from Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum.
The Lakers have lost four of their last six and are expected to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year, sitting in the Western Conference’s 13th spot with a 25-30 record.
BetOnline have priced the 17-time champions at +175 to make the postseason which would give LeBron another run at a title, closing in on Jordan’s tally of six.
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