LEBRON JAMES PRAISES ‘IDOL’ JORDAN AFTER PASSING HIM IN ALL-TIME SCORING
*LeBron James shared a touching tribute to his idol Michael Jordan after passing the NBA legend on the all-time scoring list.
As reported by Complex, James became emotional after passing Jordan to move into fourth place on the NBA career scoring list on Wednesday night.
“I don’t know, man, a lot of the stuff I’ve done in my career, this ranks right at the top,” James said after the Lakers vs Denver Nuggets game. “For a kid from Akron, Ohio, that needed inspiration, needed some type of positive influence, MJ was that guy for me.
“Wanted to be like MJ, wanted to shoot fadeaways like MJ, wanted to stick my tongue out on dunks like MJ, wanted to wear my sneakers like MJ. … I wanted kids to look up to me at some point like MJ.
“It’s crazy, to be honest. It’s beyond crazy.”
THANK YOU M.J!! Still tripping about last night. Couldn’t have in a trillion years thought that would be possible especially knowing where I come from and what I watch him do every single night! Doesn’t make sense to me to be honest. Man it’s CRAZY!! I know you guys think I’m tripping but if you knew me and my friends growing up you’d understand. Beyond blessed and appreciative of all the congrats from family, friends, colleagues, strangers, haters(), etc etc!! For the ones who been on the journey from Day 1 and I mean Day 1 I thank you even more!! Love . #striveforgreatness #thekidfromakron #jamesgang #stillmoretocome
Via Reuters:
James, who finished with 31 points in the Lakers’ 115-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets, came into the night 12 behind Jordan’s career total of 32,292 points. He now sits at 32,311 points.
The NBA star was visibly emotionally when he passed Jordan during the game.
According to the report, after his teammates congratulated him and a tribute video played, James sat alone on the bench at the next timeout with his face buried in a towel.
Hornets owner Michael Jordan issues brief statement on LeBron James passing him on the NBA’s all-time scoring list: “I want to congratulate LeBron on achieving another great milestone during his amazing career.”
Complex writes: “LeBron now sits behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kobe Bryant (33,643). He could conceivably pass Kobe next season, and passing Kareem somewhere down the road is very much in play for King James.”