Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is one of the greatest players in the history of basketball, and many have him on their list of the top two or three players ever.
The biggest reason is his insane versatility: his ability to score, hit the open man, grab rebounds, manipulate defenses, push the pace and orchestrate a game with ease.
James continues to climb the mountain of the all-time career scorers in NBA history, and he is inching closer and closer to passing Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the top of that hill.
When the greatest scorers in league history are discussed, certain names always come up. Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and, perhaps, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson seem to be mainstays in that discussion.
But James feels like he doesn’t get enough such recognition, and he admitted so in the Season 5 premiere of “The Shop: Uninterrupted.”
“To sit at the top of the food chain in the most points scored in the history of the game, it’s weird to me,” James said. “They don’t ever call me when they talk about the best scorers of all time, they never mention my name … Yeah it pisses me off. They don’t ever bring my name into it.”
The four-time MVP currently sits third in career NBA points, just behind Karl Malone. For good measure, he also has the fifth-highest career scoring average in NBA history.
Perhaps he’s not talked about as an elite scorer because he loves hitting the open man and racking up assists so much. Or maybe it’s because he’s not quite as skilled a scorer as the other great scorers and he relies more on his athleticism and physicality.
Whatever the reason, one can’t deny James is certainly piling up points this season. Averaging 29.4 points per game, he is a hair behind the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, who is leading the league in that category.
After dropping 56 points in Saturday’s win over the Golden State Warriors, there shouldn’t be any doubt that James is among the NBA’s kings of scoring.
