More than 22 years after his debut in the league, Lebron James continues to make new NBA history. During the game between his Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans, the favorite son of Akron, Ohio, became the first player ever to score 50,000 career points.
The makings of yet another record to break were truly all there. The Lakers were coming to the game after a major streak of consecutive wins.
Luka Doncic’s arrival in the yellow and purple jersey revitalized an environment that had given up on the idea of another anonymous season. The Slovenian phenom, who immediately established basketball chemistry of a superior level with Lebron, has revived the Californians’ ambitions, with Los Angeles now in second place in the Western Conference, and set to experience the playoffs as an absolute protagonist.
But back to the night’s game. Before the two-ball, Lebron, who blew out 40 candles in December, had been honored as the best player of the month in February, which ended with a surreal average of 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.2 steals.
The basket that delivered and made Lebron once again the king of basketball, was sunk after 3 1/2 minutes of play, when Doncic with a pass of his own found Lebron all alone on the weak side, behind the three-point line. Just net, for the 50,000, 50,001 and 50,002 points of the all-time leading scorer. Not content with that, Lebron closed out his game by nearing a triple double, with 34 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. All while staying on the court for 33 minutes.
With a final score of 136-115, Los Angeles captured its 11th win in the last 13 games. With a Lebron playing at this level, and the genius of Luka “Magic” to help him out, these Lakers can really beat just about any team.
“I’m not going to sit here and sugarcoat it – it’s a hell of a lot of points,” James said at the end of the game, “And I’m super blessed to be able to put that many points up in the best league in the world with the best players in the world over my career, so it’s pretty special.”
Now, after yet another personal best, the 4-time NBA champion sets his sights on his next goal: the post season.
