Cleveland Cavaliers News: LeBron James Passes Shaquille O’Neal
The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals by a score of 108-89, while their star player, LeBron James, passed Shaquille O’Neal on the all-time NBA playoff scoring list.
During Cleveland’s most recent victory, their tenth straight in this year’s NBA playoffs, LeBron James scored the 19 points he needed to pass Shaquille O’Neal for fourth on the all-time list. By halftime of the game against the Toronto Raptors, LeBron had 17 points. When it was all said and done, James had scored 23 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers, eclipsing Shaq’s 5,250 career playoff points, as reported by Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
LeBron now sits at 5,255 career playoff points. According to Basketball-Reference, James has 2,917 postseason points in his seven years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, while he has 2,338 playoff points in his four years with the Miami Heat.
LeBron James passes Shaq for fourth on all-time playoff scoring list https://t.co/rfPWwN2nfN
— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) May 20, 2016
As James Herbert of CBS Sports reported, this was LeBron’s 15th career playoff triple-double, recording 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Although Cleveland routed Toronto, LeBron and the Cavaliers numbers could have been even more impressive, as the team’s star made just nine of 17 free throws.
Next up on the list of NBA dignitaries for LeBron James to pass is Jason Kidd. Cleveland’s James will pass Kidd for third on the NBA’s all-time playoff assists list when he records just three more assists, according to ESPN. Kidd has 1,263 career playoff assists, while James sits at 1,261 currently. According to Basketball-Reference, 762 of those assists by LeBron have come as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After Cleveland’s victory, LeBron James reflected on his path to this point in his NBA career, as reported by ESPN.
“It always takes me back to my childhood and watching so many greats play the game of basketball and saying that I wish I could be a part of that. Or at times saying there was no way I could be a part of such a great league, no way.”
Not only has LeBron become part of the great league, he has now transitioned from a super prospect to an up-and-coming star, and finally to one of the greatest ever to play the game in the NBA. For as much superlatives as have surrounded the Cleveland star, the numbers and statistics now back up what fans and the media have been saying about him all along. He is etching his name in the record books among the likes of Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and even Michael Jordan.
The great Abdul-Jabbar even congratulated LeBron, after Cleveland’s victory, on reaching fourth on the all-time NBA career playoff points list.
LeBron certainly recognizes his place among the all-time greats to ever play the game. He is also very respectful of those players who paved the way for him to sit along with them in the record books, as recounted by ESPN.
“Just to embrace a legend being in our building, watching us play. What he did for the game, the championship runs that he had with the Showtime Lakers, him being the all-time-leading scorer in NBA history and so on and so on and so on. It’s just respect. When you see a guy like that and you put him in a class with like Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali and Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, it was a pretty cool moment.”
One place in the record books where LeBron has ground to make up on some of the all-time greats is NBA championships. He currently has two NBA titles to his name, trailing some of the legends such as Shaquille O’Neal with four, Kobe Bryant with five, and Michael Jordan with six.
James is trying to help his Cleveland Cavaliers earn their first NBA title and his third. If he can help the Cavaliers hoist their first ever championship trophy, it will be a testament to his greatness in achieving the ultimate team victory with two NBA franchises.
[Photo by Tony Dejak/AP Images]
