LeBron James Joins 30,000 Club
LeBron James became the 7th NBA player to reach 30,000 points on Tuesday night. He scored the milestone point in the first quarter of the match between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the San Antonio Spurs.
LeBron James finished with 28 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in the match which the Cavaliers lost 114 – 102 to the Spurs.
He is the youngest NBA player to reach 30,000 points at 33 years and 24 days. The second youngest is Kobe Bryant, at 34 years and 104 days.
The other players in the “30,000 Club†are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38, 387), Karl Malone (36,928), Michael Jordan (32,292), Wilt Chamberlain (31,419), and Dirk Nowitzki (30,837).
It’s a welcome distraction for Cleveland, which hasn’t been in good form of late. The Spurs defeat comes off the back of a 148 – 124 loss to Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Cavs have lost eight of their last 11 games. Their record is 27 – 19, and hopes of competing with the Golden State Warriors for the NBA Championship are fading.
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LeBron James described reaching 30,000 points as a “special momentâ€.
“I just started thinking about everything. My journey from being a kid who first picked up a basketball when I was 5 years old to first playing organized basketball when I was 9 all the way up to this point.
“I give a lot of thanks to a lot of people. This is a special moment. It’s something I never set out to do. I’m not even a score-first guy when it comes to playing basketball. I love getting my teammates involved and seeing my teammates be excited about scoring and me getting the assist and things of that nature.
“For me to sit here and be the youngest player to ever reach 30,000, I’ve put a lot of work into my game,” James said. “It’s been a by-product of that.”
That work is paying off this season. LeBron James is having his most productive season in 4 years. He is averaging 27 points a game, his highest since 2013 – 2014.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue called James’ 30,000 point a “great accomplishmentâ€:
“I wish we could’ve won the game, but for a guy who’s always been pass-first and looking to make his teammates better, to be the youngest guy to score 30,000 points is a great accomplishment.”
