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Anyone who tuned into last night's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, bore witness (pun intended) to a small piece of history.
With a late third quarter triple, LeBron James passed Michael Jordan to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in the post-season. LeBron did so using 120 less field goal attempts, although it did take him an additional 33 games. Another note-worthy point is that during Jordan’s career, the first round of the playoffs was decided by a 5-game series, as opposed to today’s more conventional 7-game series.
Nonetheless, the milestone is still an impressive feat. James is only 32 years old and has a lot of good basketball ahead of him and considering that Jordan’s record stood for 19 years, it’s safe to stay that LeBron will be at the top of that list for quite some time.
In addition to claiming the scoring title, LeBron also passed Manu Ginobili for third on the NBA’s all-time playoff 3PM list. James now needs two more 3-point field goals to pass Reggie Miller for second, but likely won’t catch Ray Allen for the top spot this season.
James also become the first non-Boston Celtic to clinch a berth in 7 consecutive NBA Finals, however he wasn’t the only person making history last night. James Jones will also be making his 7th NBA Finals appearance as he has been a teammate of James’ since their first season together with the Miami Heat back in 2011.
James finished the night with 35 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST and 3 STL, all without playing a single minute of the fourth quarter. His shooting percentages were equally as impressive as he shot 72% from the field and 57% from the 3-point line.
Unfortunately for LeBron, no one is going to care about this record in exactly one week’s time. By then, there will be a completely different number on everyone’s mind, including that of Lebron James.
Six.
LeBron Fact: LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are currently the only players in NBA history to have won Finals MVP as a member of two different NBA teams. Kareem won the award in 1971 while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, and again in 1985 as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. James, who has won the award 3 times, won it twice as a member of the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013 and again in 2016 as a Cleveland Cavalier.
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