LeBron James is on his way to reaching another milestone in his illustrious career. But this time, it is a big one. The untouched record in NBA history for almost forty years is on the verge of getting broken. In a way, it is a win-win situation for the Lakers as both the players with the all-time scoring record represented the franchise in the past and the present.
Albeit started his professional basketball career with the Milwaukee Bucks, the legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played most of his career for the Los Angeles Lakers until his retirement in 1989. Again for LeBron James, the journey started at Cleveland Cavaliers. From there, he changed teams in the middle going to Miami Heat. It was a glorious time with the Heat, but then he came back to Caveliars for a triumphant return.
Finally, he landed in Los Angeles and donned the jersey of the Lakers. As the most valued player of the Lakers, LeBron James won his fourth NBA championship in 2020, and as it looks, King James is going to be the new all-time leading scorer wearing the jersey of a Lakers player. But with the Lakers, things are not looking very good in the current season. The team is lingering at the bottom of the Western Conference table. It does not look like the Lakers will make it to the playoff this season, repeating what happened the last season.
The Current Situation Of The Lakers
According to LeBron James, ever since the 2020 championship season, the Lakers team has been suffering from health issues that have led to the downfall of their campaigns in the following seasons. The Last season LeBron James was ruled out for several games due to an injury when Anthony Davis carried the team on his shoulders.
That\’s precisely what LeBron James has been doing this season, especially after turning 38 on December 30. He helped the team to maintain a winning streak. However, it did not last very long. The Lakers are currently 25-29, at 13th seed. With every loss, their window of qualifying for at least the play-in round is closing down.
Why Giddey Feels LeBron James Won\’t Make History Tonight?
The match against the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight is going to be another crucial encounter for the Lakers. To break the all-time scoring record, LeBron James just needs another 37 points to score. As he is 36 points away from the elusive 38,387 points. However, the 20-year-old Aussie point guard Joshua Giddey, who plays for the Thunder, does not feel that King James will manage to score 36 points or more against his team. As they have got one of the best team defenses in the current season.
Despite what Giddey feels, the Thunder team has let their opponents score 115.9 PPA this season. Plus, the game against the Lakers will be the second in two days. Without a day\’s rest, the players might have a fatigue issue, giving the Lakers a slight edge over them. Due to high demand, the Lakers and the Thunder game ticket prices are crossing all limits. According to Sportskeeda reports, the prices are as high as $40,000. Only time will tell if LeBron James can score 36 points or more in that game.