LeBron James eclipses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -- and Michael Jordan -- on the same magical night
LeBron James had chased this moment, and one man in particular, for the entirety of his career -- all this with the points piling up, the legacy debates intensifying, that sense of history growing heavier and heavier with every bucket that brought him closer to surpassing that revered and lofty number: 38,387. He wore the Lakers jersey now, the purple and gold perfectly suited for the meaning of the thing. He had the four rings, and the four regular season Most Valuable Player awards, and the four NBA Finals MVPs. The resume was glittering. He'd even cemented himself as the player with the fourth-most assists in NBA History a week earlier, reminding anyone who needed it of the multifaceted absurdness of his basketball gifts. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was there to watch, waiting, like the rest of us. Hollywood royalty filled the first few rows of what was once Staples Center. The media was at a NBA Finals level, o...