LOS ANGELES — There are times when the clearest picture of what is in LeBron James’ head is actually on his shoes.
Written in black marker was a message: “THANK YOU M.J. 23”.
Michael Jordan has been many things to James: As a child, his idol. As a young star, his goal. And as of Monday night, James has finally bested the standard bearer for basketball greatness in one important category: scoring.
Midway through the second quarter of a 115-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets, James drove to the left of Nikola Jokic and, with a hand in his face, sunk a short jumper off the glass. He gestured with finger pistols to the Staples Center crowd, which stood in response: Everyone knew he had just passed 32,292.
Even for a star as big as James, the moment was overwhelming.
“A lot of stuff I’ve done in my career, this ranks right up there at the top,” he said. “I watched him from afar, 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, and it’s just crazy, to be honest. It’s beyond crazy.”
It’s not the most points in NBA history – James still sits behind three other greats, all of whom played for the Lakers. But Jordan’s career point total is a hallowed milestone of the league, a benchmark around which all of the game’s greats are judged.
James said Wednesday morning he didn’t know how exactly he’d react to the moment, and mostly teammates reacted for him: he got hugs from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee as he went to the free-throw line. Even Jokic, the Nuggets All-Star, clapped and gestured to the crowd to show its appreciation.
The Lakers played a video congratulating James in the timeout immediately afterward, showcasing many of the accomplishments from his record well before he arrived in Los Angeles last summer. For much of that time, James draped his face in a towel, giving himself a private moment in the midst of the sellout crowd.
“A lot of things that was going on inside of me at that point in time,” he said. “I wanted to look up at the scoreboard to kind of see what was going on up there, but at the same time I didn’t want to show what was going on behind that towel.”
The strange part for the Lakers (30-35) is that such history is being written in what have become meaningless games. Already well outside the playoff chase after three straight losses before Wednesday night, it took nearly three quarters before the Lakers showed any sign of life – Denver rang up an early double-digit lead and kept the gas on, scoring 66 points by halftime.
Periodically, as the Nuggets led by as much as 23 and scored on putbacks and fast-breaks, what would’ve been an otherwise celebratory night was broken up by a smattering of boos. It was a reminder that even as James vaults past one of the NBA’s most meaningful milestones, what will ultimately define his Lakers legacy is team success – or a lack thereof.
It’s fair to note the Lakers didn’t have the necessary firepower to match up with the Western Conference’s second-place team: Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball were among the players watching from the bench with injuries.
An unlikely group brought the game to its narrowest second-half margin, as two-way contract players Johnathan Williams and Alex Caruso along with rookie Moe Wagner hustled their way back to single digits, and early in the fourth quarter, James pushed along with them. The deficit was whittled to two points when Caruso made a layup with 9:21 remaining.
Denver guard Gary Harris ended up shutting the door on the Lakers, scoring 10 straight points for the Nuggets, including a pair of 3-pointers that stretched the lead back to a comfortable range.
James checked out with 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists with two minutes remaining, his work over for the night, but far from over with his latest franchise. The Lakers lost for the 14th time in their last 19 games.
When James passed Jordan, the basket put the Lakers 16 points behind the Nuggets. He felt the milestone was somewhat diminished by the circumstances in the game and the season at large.
“At the end of the day, we’re still struggling,” he said. “I hate that for our franchise, I hate that for our fans, I hate that for myself.”
Still producing stats at near prime-levels at age 34, James passed Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain on the scoring list earlier this season, and also entered the NBA’s top 10 assist leaders during the Lakers’ last road trip. He’s the only player in both the top 10 in assists and scoring, now sitting with 32,311 points in his career. The next player to chase down is Kobe Bryant (33,643), with Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) a distant second and first.
“Obviously my body holding up is the most important thing and how I continue to play the game at a high level is what’s most important to me,” James said of chasing Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time record. “And if these accomplishments happen along the way, then so be it. But obviously, I didn’t come into the league saying, ‘I want to be the all-time leader in points.’ ”
Jordan’s larger-than-life influence continues to have a pull on James, who wears jersey No. 23 because it was the Chicago Bulls star’s number. He’s talked about following Jordan’s footsteps into NBA team ownership someday, particularly inspired by the recent All-Star weekend in Charlotte where Jordan holds court.
But on this day, James tapped into his stored away wonder of his childhood hero. Growing up in a single-parent household in Akron, Ohio, Jordan’s career nurtured his love of the game.
He took away a game ball from the night, even though the Lakers lost. To James, it’s still special in a way that goes beyond winning and losing.
“So many kids look up to me for inspiration, and when I was a kid their age, I needed inspiration,” James said. “MJ was that inspiration for me, along with some other people. So sometimes I have no idea how I’m even in this position to be able to sit here, play the game that I love, play at a high level and be linked with some of the greatest to ever play this game.”
