LeBron James overtakes Michael Jordan on all-time NBA scoring list

Michael Jordan played the last game of his career on April 16, 2003. He was 40 years and 58 days old. His team, Washington, lost in Philadelphia. It was his 1,072nd game in the NBA regular season. That day he scored 15 points and concluded his phenomenal career with 32,292, a figure that placed him in third place in the ranking of top scorers in NBA history. Years later he was relegated to fourth place by Kobe Bryant. Now, 16 years later, LeBron James surpasses Michael Jordan and, with 32,311 points, is in fourth place behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kobe Bryant (33,643).

LeBron needed to score 13 points to overcome, in the game between the Lakers and Denver, the historical mark of Michael Jordan. He got it in just over five minutes and finished the game with 31 points, in addition to seven rebounds and seven assists. The achievement had a bittersweet taste because the Lakers lost (99-115) and moved further and further away from their goal of qualifying for the playoffs. They occupy the eleventh position, with seven wins less than the Clippers, who occupy the eighth and last place that qualifies for the final playoffs. "For a kid from Akron, Ohio, who needed inspiration and needed some kind of positive influence, MJ was that guy," LeBron explained after the game against Denver. “I watched it from afar. He wanted to be like MJ, stick out his tongue like MJ, wear the same shoes as MJ. And I wanted the kids to look up to me at some point as MJ. He is crazy”.