Rumors

He’s fully aware that he’s playing for one of the most storied franchises in sports history, a 17-time championship team which has been the home of some of the league’s biggest names, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, James — and now him. “It’s a big opportunity for me,” Doncic said. “I feel great where I am. The team is good. I feel like I’m myself, personally. I feel great here. I like living in LA. I love the fans. So, I’m really in a good spot right now.”

New York Post

During Friday’s postgame, reporter Leigh Ellis presented Kevin Durant with the math: To catch Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points, the 37-year-old Durant — currently sixth all-time with around 31,736 points — would need to average 25 points per game over his next 268 games. Durant reacted with surprise. “Jesus! God damn! I don’t know if I can get 25 a game for 270 more games, brother,” he said. “I never wanna say never, but those dudes set the bar so high. I think about the top three or four, you gotta play at least 20 years in the league to even reach that, and still be at that level for 15 or 20 years.” The 18-year veteran emphasized longevity over chasing specific records: “I’m looking at it more so like that. Play long, play 20-plus years in the league, and see where you end up. If I end up there, it’s cool; if not, I just wanna be around and be in the league,” he said.

Larry Brown Sports

Leigh Ellis: I asked Kevin Durant, who is currently 6th all-time in scoring, if he thinks he could catch Kareem and end up 2nd. (I did the math to show him what he needs)

Twitter

Jovan Buha: With his 24th minute tonight at Cleveland, LeBron James reached 60,000 career regular-season minutes, per the Lakers. He becomes the first player in NBA history to reach the mark. 1. LeBron James (60,000) 2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (57,446)

x.com

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Back then, we didn’t have cameras in every pocket. We had each other’s testimony. We had the bodies. We had the burned buildings, the charred remains of rage and fear. The truth was written into the world around us. That’s the thread connecting 1968 to Minneapolis today. When you demand accountability, the system tries to turn you into the problem. Institutions question your motives, your patriotism, even your right to speak. It’s a distraction, a smokescreen. (Or, in this case, a gas screen.) Because nothing says “law and order” like hurling pepper spray and noxious gas, and refusing to investigate your own questionable or downright illegal actions."

Substack

Jorge Sierra: LeBron James quietly passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar this month to become the all-time leader in regular season Win Shares. He was already the runaway No. 1 in playoff Win Shares.

Twitter

Growing up, he pored through old VHS tapes of superstars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin McHale, and Hakeem Olajuwon. Nobody put more work in than him at becoming an old school post-up master. It took great humility to give that part of his game up. "Obviously, I love playing in the post. I will always love playing in the post. Any opportunity I get in there, I'm going to try to," Garza said. "But the role I have on this team emphasizes my screening, my ability to stretch the floor, crashing the glass. And having a role and being able to impact winning is amazing. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Sporting News

JJ Redick said 'that's the nature of envy' when he talked about the LeBron James haters criticizing his current defensive level. What's your take? Andre Iguodala: I just think he's so great that they have to talk about him, and you know how it can get, where it's like when someone is playing for so long, the narrative has to go every which way as long as he's the narrative. And so, I just think that just speaks volumes to his greatness, that people have to talk about him. It could be positive, it could be negative, but he's gonna drive basketball conversations because of his greatness. And he's carried the torch for so long. We've only seen two people carry the torch for this long, him and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They're the only two players you've seen carry the torch for two decades. LeBron can still dominate the game with his brain. And his body hasn't slowed down the way you normally do. It's just because of how much work he puts into his body and how he takes care of his body. And he's showing a blueprint for the younger players.

HoopsHype

The 41-year-old Lakers star LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul, recently recorded an episode of his podcast ‘Game Over’ with Max Kellerman and spoke about whether this is James’ last NBA season, and made an eye-opening claim about it. He also addressed LeBron James’ floor right now, which means the least he can contribute to the Lakers, even on a bad day. He compared that to the Jazz veteran Karl Malone, who was second in the league’s history in scoring behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar before James took over the record from them both a few years ago. “I made a comment before I said that obviously the ceiling is who he is, or who he has been for his career. But the floor is Karl Malone,” said Paul. He went on to explain how efficiently James could produce if he played the same role as Karl Malone did for most of his career, which is setting screens for John Stockton and rolling to the rim.

Yardbarker.com

Tonight with LeBron James' second game as a 41 year old, he claims the NBA record for most points in a game (31 points) by a 41-year-old player, previously held by Kareem (25 points).

reddit

HoopsHype: Nikola Jokic passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in assists and Bob Cousy in scoring last night. Also: KD has a lot of blocks.

Twitter

Besides the usual contribution amounting to a 13th triple-double this season, Nikola Jokic became the career assists leader among centers, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s total midway through the second period. At 5,654 assists in the Regular Season to start in Orlando, he needed six more to match the record, and ended up with 13. Applauded by coaches and teammates, he also received the game ball in the locker room. “I always say this, in this moment not a lot,” the Joker mentioned in a postgame press conference, downplaying the latest huge career milestone. “You don’t have time to think about it. You have two hours to think about it, and then after that you forget.” “Maybe some of the bigger passes. Maybe something in the Playoffs, but I don’t even remember,” he previously struggled to pick a favorite assist.

EuroHoops.net

DNVR Nuggets: Nikola Jokic passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for MOST ASSISTS for a center in NBA history. Jokic did it in 789 FEWER GAMES

Twitter

“You look at that list it’s like, there’s no way,” Harden said earlier this week in Atlanta when asked about his inclusion on a scoring list that includes all-time leader LeBron James, center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, power forward Karl Malone, power forward Dirk Nowitzki, center Wilt Chamberlain, small forward Kevin Durant, and center Shaquille O’Neal. “There’s no way that I’d get the opportunity to be a part of this list. It’s literally like a dream come true. The work that I literally put in is coming to fruition. So many things that this game has done for me. And I’m sure for all those guys as well, you know what I mean. Those names are still being talked about, you know, post basketball. So it’s literally a dream come true, and it’s an opportunity and honor to be a part of that list.”

New York Times