Records are nothing new to LeBron James. He has been an overachiever ever since high school and has carried that on throughout many years in the NBA as well. He recently became the NBA’s highest scorer in terms of the regular season and playoff points combined and is fast approaching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s regular-season points record as well.
Saturday’s game against Golden State went a long way in making that happen, with James dropping 56 points on the night. This put him in a tie with Trae Young for the highest individual tally for any player this season. But LeBron joined some more elite company with his performance, tying Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Jamal Crawford as the only players to score more than 50 points after the age of 37.
LeBron James is the fourth player at age 37+ with a 50-point game, joining Jamal Crawford, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant 👑 pic.twitter.com/RmyyLxncA6
— ESPN (@espn) March 6, 2022
Jamal Crawford is the oldest player in NBA history to have scored 50 points in a game, he did it against the Dallas Mavericks in 2019 as a 39-year-old. The next two names on that list are perhaps the players that James earns the most comparisons to, with Michael Jordan achieving the number as a 38-year-old and Kobe Bryant doing it when he was 37.
Obviously, while these records are great to have, James will likely be far more pleased with the victory, something that the Lakers desperately needed to stop their free-fall. James got his tally on incredible efficiency as well, scoring 61% of his field-goal attempts and 54% of his three-point tries. Scoring 12 out of 13 free throws was also big for him, it’s something that he has struggled with in his career.
James has the NBA scoring title within his sights if he decides to go for it this season and you wouldn’t bank on this being his last 50-point game in the NBA either, not by a long shot. LeBron has a very realistic chance of breaking Crawford’s record if he continues playing in this way, his longevity at the highest level is truly unparalleled in the history of the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbl_M4iFOpw
