LeBron James had a senior moment, thanks to Jabari Smith Jr. LeBron James is now beginning to lap the competition. After numerous years in the league, the Akron native now finds himself competing against a second-generation hoopster. When the LA Lakers took on the Houston Rockets on Sunday, James found himself in quite a head-scratching position.
During the game, 19-year-old rookie Jabari Smith Jr. of the Houston Rockets informed LeBron James that the veteran had played against his dad. James couldn't believe what he was hearing. After Smith Jr. told the four-time champion that his dad played for the Sacramento Kings, James couldn't help but ask, "Why'd you do that to me?"
Although the Lakers won the game, Smith Jr. contributed 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. He and the team fell to LeBron James and the LA Lakers by 140-132. The game saw James erupt for a whopping 48 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists as he led the team to victory.
After the game, he spoke to media members at the post-game press conference, discussing the back-and-forth exchange he had with Smith Jr.
Explore the NBA Draft 2024 with our free NBA Mock Draft Simulator & be the GM of your favorite NBA team.
“It made me feel extremely old when Junior told me that. I think he even said it like, ‘You probably feel old.’”
You can see the exchange in the video above.
Jabari Smith Jr.'s parents
Jabari Smith pointed out to LeBron James that his dad played with the Sacramento Kings. Although Jabari Smith Sr. was on the team, the big man never played against James. When the Cavaliers and Kings squared off, he never touched the floor.
After a successful college career at LSU, Jabari Smith Sr. declared for the draft, going 45th overall in the 2000 draft. After a short stint with the Sacramento Kings, he then played for the Philadelphia 76ers for a year. After another year with the Sacramento Kings, he landed with the New Jersey Nets briefly before taking his talents overseas.
While there isn't much notable information about his mom, Jabari Smith's cousin interestingly is Kwame Brown. Brown was the first overall pick in the 2001 draft and is widely considered one of the biggest busts in NBA history.
LeBron James' quest to become the all-time scoring leader
It's no secret that LeBron James is currently marching closer and closer to the regular-season scoring record set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Currently, it seems as though it's a matter of "when" James breaks the longstanding record, not "if" he breaks it.
After his massive 48-point outing against the Houston Rockets, James now finds himself just 316 points shy of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record. With the four-time MVP playing out of his mind in recent weeks, James seems poised to break the record sooner rather than later.
Using LeBron James' career scoring average of 27.1 points per game, it would take him 12 games to break Abdul-Jabbar's record. Assuming he plays in every game between now and then, James could break the record during the Lakers' home game against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 9th.
Above, you can see some highlights from Jabari Smith Jr.'s performance in the game.
Rockets Fan? Check out the latest Houston Rockets depth chart, schedule, and roster updates all in one place.