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    Kareem Abdul-Jabbar attending record-breaking game prompts a response from LeBron James

    Despite their affiliation with the Los Angeles Lakers, Wilt Chamberlain was not present when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar passed him to become the NBA’s all-time greatest scorer on April 5, 1984. After forty years, Kareem generously attended the NBA Finals at Crypto.com Arena to watch LeBron James become the league’s all-time leading scorer.

    During the stoppage to celebrate the feat, LeBron and Kareem (alongside NBA Commissioner Adam Silver) hugged and posed for photos. Kareem presented LeBron with the ball LeBron used to set the mark.

    “To be able to be in the presence of such a legend as great as Kareem, it’s very humbling,” said a tearful LeBron. “Please give a standing ovation to the Captain, please.”

    It was a wonderfully classy moment to see, especially considering their sometimes icy personal relationship. LeBron appreciated Cap’s attendance and importance to the sport.

    “I just think it’s great for the game of basketball,” LeBron said about Kareem showing up. “It’ll be talked about for years and years and years. I’m a historian of the game, so I know what guys like Kareem and Wilt and MJ and Magic and Bird, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor — I could be up here all night talking about so many greats … For me, personally, it’s just an honor to be just named with the greats.”

    LeBron called it a “surreal feeling” to be considered among the legends whom he used to debate about and look up to as a kid.

    Kareem gave LeBron his flowers throughout the evening, as well. In an interview with TNT, he praised LeBron’s “indefinable essence that they call leadership.” In a video on the Lakers’ Instagram, the six-time MVP lauded LeBron for being a GOAT on and off the floor.

    “You become a GOAT when the things you do on the court outshine all the other players,” said Kareem. “You become an icon when the things you do off the court surpass all the other things you did on the court.”

    In addition to all their impact and achievements in basketball and beyond, Kareem and LeBron are the two defining pillars of extended excellence in NBA history. Their points totals symbolize their longevity as much as anything else.

    “He has the most unguardable shot in NBA history,” LeBron said about Kareem. “And you know how unguardable and unique it is because nobody’s ever tried it. You have the fadeaway that MJ perfected that a lot of guys have added to their games. There’s a few shots in our game that’s unguardable. But there’s only one that nobody has ever tried to emulate. You add that to his longevity, and it’s what makes him one of the greatest to ever play this game.”

    Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see LeBron pay homage to Kareem with a skyhook, though based on his pregame attempts, it was probably a safer bet to go with his own signature fade.

    Source: https://clutchpoints.com

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