Future Hall of Famer LeBron James has been putting on an absolute masterclass as he nears Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's regular-season scoring record. To close out the month of December, James put on a showcase on his birthday (Dec. 30) as he and the Lakers took down the Atlanta Hawks.
The performance marked not only the latest in a string of sensational ones, but also gave him momentum going into the new year. With two 40-point performances in January and three 30-plus games this month, James has been turning back the clock.
With less than 300 points to go until James becomes the all-time scoring king, many are eager to see him make NBA history (James has 38,104 points, Abdul-Jabbar has 38,387). While friends and former teammates like Dwyane Wade all want to be in attendance to witness LeBron cement his place in the history books, not everyone feels the same.
Given how many NBA stars and celebrities want to be in attendance to see James make history, many are wondering if Abdul-Jabbar will attend. Lakers veteran Robert Horry spoke recently about James coming up on the record during an appearance on the "Big Shot Bob" podcast:
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"People always say records are made to be broken. That's bu****it. Everybody say that ain't got no damn record. You don't want your record to be broken. You wanna be No. 1 all time in that situation, so, if someone's about to break my record, you think I'mma go sit up in the f*****g stands and watch him break my record and be p****d off? No."
You can listen to his comments in the video above beginning at the 3:35 mark.
LeBron James approaching NBA history
While Kareem Abdul-Jabbar may or may not be in attendance to see LeBron James break his regular-season scoring record, Dwyane Wade certainly will be. At the end of last year, Wade spoke about his longtime friend and what the scoring record means to him.
Despite James recently passing Magic Johnson on the all-time assists ladder last year (James is No. 6, with 10,291; Johnson is No. 7, with 10,141), the scoring record is what he's really after. The way Wade sees things, James' passing abilities are well documented. At the same time, many have criticized him over the years for being too passive when it comes to scoring.
During James' time in Miami, he was even criticized for an inability to close games come crunch time. In spite of all of the doubters and naysayers, in Year 20 LeBron James is averaging the second-most points he's averaged in the last decade (29.8 ppg).
When James breaks the scoring record, Dwyane Wade plans to be in attendance. He spoke to Sports Illustrated at the end of last year to reflect on what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record means to James.
"I’m not speaking for him when I say this, but I will speak as someone who spent a lot of time with him," Wade said. "He’s not a selfish individual on a basketball floor. But I feel that if there is one record that LeBron wants to walk away with more than the assist record, it would be the scoring record. And it’s because of what people say he cannot do."
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