It was an emotional night for LeBron James as he broke the NBA scoring record.
The LA Lakers star scored 38 points in their 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
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James broke the NBA third quarter goalscoring record
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Abdul-Jabbar congratulated James after surpassing his record
The result doesn’t matter as the story was all about LeBron surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 39-year-old record.
James needed 36 points to break the record and did it in the third quarter with a fadeaway jumper, with a brief break in play to celebrate the achievement.
His family was in attendance and his children were seen on the pitch with their phones ready to capture the moment.
Play was paused for around 10 minutes as James took pictures with his family and addressed the tearful crowd.
“To everyone who has been on this race with me over the past 20+ years, I want to say thank you so much because I wouldn’t be me without you all. You all have helped. Your passion and sacrifices have helped me helped bring it to this,” he said.
“And to the NBA of [commissioner] Adam Silver, to the late great [former commissioner] David Stern, thank you so much for letting me be a part of something I’ve always dreamed of. I never dreamed in a million years that it would be any better than it is tonight.
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The game was paused for around 10 minutes for James and his family to celebrate
Bronny James, her son, was then seen showing her a video of when he broke that record.
There were heartwarming scenes afterwards in the locker room as Bronny and his other son Bryce showed him the footage they took, with a happy father asking his children to send him the footage.
James finished the night with a career total of 38,390 points.
It will cement his legacy as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
The four-time NBA champion is in his 20th season, having been drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
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Celebrities were out in force to see the NBA legend break the record
He is also a four-time NBA regular-season MVP and has made the Finals 10 times, throughout his career with the Cavs, Miami Heat and Lakers.
When asked after the game if he was the best NBA player of all time, James said: “I’ll let everyone decide who it is or just talk about it, but it’s an excellent barber speech.
“Me personally, I’m going to go against anyone who has ever played this game. But everyone is going to decide who their favorite is.
