CNN
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The Los Angeles Lakers honored superstar LeBron James passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in a pregame ceremony on Thursday.
With his family and Abdul-Jabbar in attendance, a tribute video was shown on the video board, before former Lakers star James Worthy spoke briefly and introduced James at half court prior to the game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
James thanked his family, including his mother, wife and three kids, before reflecting on his career.
“I wouldn’t be able to do the things that I do on a day-to-day basis, I wouldn’t be able to come on this court and showcase my talent to you guys every single night if I didn’t have the support and I didn’t have the commitment from my family that’s allowed me to do the things that I do,” James said.
“Being a kid from Akron, Ohio and when I was three years old on December 25, 1988, my mother bought me a Little Tikes hoop, and there’s actually a photo floating around of that Christmas gift. That moment, I fell in love with basketball. I was about to turn four-years old on December 30 of that year, but from that moment on I knew that that orange sphere was something that I always wanted to be a part of my journey.
“Someone said on social media that that was the biggest investment in the history of mankind, a $20 Little Tikes hoop could turn what it’s turned into today.”
James then discussed what he felt after breaking the record.
“As I sit up here and look across these jumbotron and this thing going around the Crypto [.com Arena], and seeing the NBA all-time leading scorer,” he said, “it’s just so surreal to me.”
James passed Abdul-Jabbar’s longstanding record of 38,387 points scored with a fadeaway jumper from the free throw line in the third quarter versus the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
Once he set the new mark, the game was halted to celebrate James’ achievement. The new scoring king was joined on the court by his family, Abdul-Jabbar, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and Magic Johnson, among others.
James, playing in his 20th season at age 38, came into the game 36 points away from breaking the record, which had been held by Abdul-Jabbar since 1984.
He finished Tuesday’s game with 38 points and seven rebounds in the Lakers’ 133-130 loss to the Thunder, bringing his career scoring to total to 38,390.
He did not play on Thursday night, when the Lakers went down 115-106 against the Bucks.