LeBron James is on the doorstep of breaking yet another NBA record in the coming weeks. Yes, we are talking about none other than James breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record in the next few games.
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar got one step closer to attaining greatness following his triple-double performance against the New York Knicks. So much so that LeBron James is now just 89 points aware from breaking Kareem’s record, which has been held for almost 40 years.
With James on the brink of breaking the record, Kareem recently praised LeBron and wished him all the best about carrying the torch and holding the record for at least as long as Abdul-Jabbar himself did.
Pat Riley On LeBron James And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Greatness
Miami Heat president Pat Riley is one of the only few people who has had the opportunity to work with both Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James. Riley coached Abdul-Jabbar with the Lakers, while he played a crucial role in bringing James to the Heat for four years.
With that being said, Riley recently gave his take on the greatness of the two NBA legends while explaining a few key differences between them as well.
Via Associated Press:
“Kareem was a guy that never had any potential. He just had greatness. You could see that. When you can bypass potential and you move right to greatness as a high school player, and then college and then the pros … there are very few like him. There’s a handful. Two handfuls, at the most.”
Riley added, “He felt special because he was special, because he is special. He was treated as the patriarch by all the players. It was a great week for him. He was engaged, came to everything we did, gave some spontaneous talks. And he’s a shy guy, but he felt very comfortable in his group.”
“It’s all about LeBron right now, and it should be, with his unique career and unique opportunity to do this. Training, travel, personal chefs, personal trainers, all that stuff has come into play since Kareem. I hope people realize Kareem’s story as well and how different it was. He went to college for four years; LeBron came out of high school. But they both dominated from Day 1. They both turned potential into greatness from Day 1,” Riley concluded.
Pat Riley did praise both NBA superstars, but he still pointed out the fact that Kareem attended college for four years. On the other hand, James entered the league straight out of high school.
Either way, the careers of both Kareem and LeBron are legendary, with the latter being on the verge of surpassing the former’s all-time points total. it will be a historic night.
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