LeBron James broke Michael Jordan's NBA record for a 30-point game during the Los Angeles Lakers' win over Atlanta on Friday night.
With the turnaround with 5:58 left in the last of his 30 points, James reached at least 30 points in the regular season for the 563rd time in his career, surpassing the mark set by Jordan in 2003.
Jordan set his streak at 1,072 games over 15 seasons, while James surpassed him at 1,523. appear in 22 seasons.
“It's very humbling,” James said. “Anytime I'm mentioned with one of the greats, and probably the greatest to ever play the game, super-cool. That's someone I idolized as a kid and I'm wearing 23 years because of him.
“To know that I can sit here and be in a room or in a conversation or whatever, you mention MJ, it's like a super-duper drug for me, being a kid where I'm from.”
James turned 40 last week and is among the few remaining active players who personally witnessed Jordan in his prime in the 1990s with the Chicago Bulls. He studied and admired Jordan during his childhood in Akron, Ohio.
When James passed Jordan for fourth on the NBA's career scoring list in March 2019, the moment brought him to tears on the Lakers bench. He called Jordan an “inspiration” and “lightning in a bottle for me, because I wanted to be like him.”
The Lakers announced James' latest statistical superlative in their locker room following the Lakers' 119-102 win over Atlanta. However, Chicago native Anthony Davis also made sure James kept his accomplishment in perspective.
“It bothers me,” the Lakers big man said with a smile. “But it took him another seven seasons … No, actually, growing up, I was more of a No. 1 LeBron. That was my era. So that's obviously a hell of an accomplishment. I think he's probably No. 1 in everything in at this moment.
“I've been here long enough to witness so many accomplishments, so I'm definitely grateful to be here, and we just want to keep it going.”
James set the record in his 1,523rd. appearance in 22 seasons, while Jordan set the record for 1,072 games in 15 seasons
James scored his last two layup goals, fadeaway jumpers that looked more than a little like Jordan's famous mid-range shot to the heart of the game. James said youth coaches didn't always like his attempts to emulate Jordan's turnaround to fade because it compromises the shooter's balance, but he's spent his entire basketball life honing it into a weapon.
“(Jordan) was more of a left shoulder guy,” James said. “I kind of go the opposite way. But just two masters of their craft who work and work and work to the point where it's kind of unprotected. It just works. It's work and dedication.”
Coincidentally, on Friday night, James also passed Dirk Nowitzki (1,522) for the fourth most regular season games played in NBA history. James has already played in the most postseason games (287) in NBA history.
But James shows absolutely no signs of slowing down in his record-breaking 22nd season: He scored 38 points against Portland the night before and matched Jordan's 30.
James became the NBA career leader last season and holds several additional longevity records. He scored at least 10 points in 1,253 consecutive games over the past 18 years, breaking the record set by Jordan from 1986 to 2001 (866).