LeBron James surpasses Michael Jordan’s NBA record for 30-point games reaching 563 | NBA News

LeBron James broke Michael Jordan’s NBA record with 30 points during the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over Atlanta on Friday night.

With a jumper with 5:58 to play for 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 achieved his record in 1,072 games over 15 seasons, while James surpassed him in his 1,523 appearance over 22 seasons.

“It’s very humbling,” James said. “Any time I’m mentioned with any of the greats, arguably the greatest to ever play the game, it’s pretty cool. He’s someone I idolized as a kid, and I wear 23 because of him.”

“So, knowing that I can sit here and be in the room or in the conversation or whatever, as MJ mentioned, it’s super dope for me, being a kid where I come from.”

James turned 40 last week, and is among the few remaining active players who personally witnessed Jordan in the 1990s with the Chicago Bulls. He studied and admired Jordan during his childhood in Akron, Ohio.

When James passed Jordan for fourth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list in March 2019, the moment moved him to tears on the Lakers’ bench. He described Jordan as an “inspiration” and “lightning in a bottle for me, because I wanted to be like him.”

The Lakers announced James’ latest stats in the locker room after the Lakers’ 119-102 win over Atlanta. However, Chicago native Anthony Davis made sure James kept his accomplishment in mind.

“It bothers me,” the Lakers big man said with a smile. “But it took him seven more seasons…No, actually, growing up, I was more LeBron’s No. 1. That was my era. So obviously that’s an amazing accomplishment. I think he’s probably No. 1 in everything at this point.” ” .

“I’ve been here long enough to see a lot of accomplishments, so I’m definitely grateful to be here, and we just want to keep stacking up.”

James scored his final two sets on quick, fadeaway jumpers that looked a little like the famous shot at the heart of Jordan’s mid-range game. James said his youth coaches didn’t always like that his attempts to emulate Jordan’s transformation fizzled because they hurt the shooter’s balance, but he spent his entire basketball life refining it and turning it into a weapon.

“(Jordan) was more of a fade-in left shoulder guy,” James said. “I’m kind of going in the opposite direction. But just two masters of their craft put in the work and work and work to the point where it becomes unguardable. It just works. It’s work and dedication.”

Coincidentally, James also passed Dirk Nowitzki (1,522) for the fourth-most regular-season games played in NBA history on Friday night. James has already played the most postseason games (287) in NBA history.

But James shows absolutely no signs of slowing down in his record-setting 22nd season: He scored 38 points against Portland one night ago to tie Jordan’s mark of 30 points.

James became the NBA’s scoring leader last season, and holds several additional 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 1986-2001 (866).