LeBron James surpassed Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon for the 10th spot on NBA's all-time scoring list in the first quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 102-101 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Saturday at Wells Fargo Center.
Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid managed to block LeBron James at 3:20 into the contest in a first attempt to reach the milestone, NBA.com reported. LeBron James missed twice more before racing up the court for a fast-break layup that put the Cavs up 14-7 with 6:02 left in the first quarter. That gave Lebron James two points and a total of 26,947, one more than Hakeem Olajuwon's career total of 26,946 points. Lebron James is poised to soon surpass Elvin Hayes, who has 27,313 points, at ninth place.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the top spot with 38,387, followed by Karl Malone with 36,928, Kobe Bryant with 33,643, Michael Jordan with 32,292, and Wilt Chamberlain rounds up the top five with 31,419. Dirk Nowitzki is at sixth with 29,527, followed by Shaquille O'Neal with 28,596. Meanwhile, Moses Malone is at eight with 27,409.
LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan are the only players in the list who are wing players. The rest are either centers or power forwards. LeBron James gave credit to his "great teammates" for entrusting him to do what he does that allowed him to crack the top 10 all-time scoring list. He added that it is also a testament on how he takes care of his body and works on his craft, according to ESPN.
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said that he doesn't think LeBron James is being given credit for his scoring prowess because he has a great all-around game that includes rebounding, passing, and playing defensive. Tyronn Lue noted that people often mention about LeBron James' passing and rebounding abilities and his unselfishness and leave out the fact that he also scores a lot.
Comparing LeBron James to Kobe Bryant, Tyronn Lue said that they had a different mentality about the game in such that while the retired ex-Los Angeles Lakers superstar can kill opponents with his scoring, Lebron James subdues them with his all-around game.
