LeBron James surpassed Michael Jordan’s NBA record for 30-point games during the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against Atlanta on Friday night.
With an 18-foot jumper with 5:58 to play, James scored at least 30 points in the regular season for the 563rd time in his career, breaking the record established by Jordan in 2003. Jordan set the record in 1,072 career games over 15 seasons, while James broke the mark in his 1,523rd appearance over 22 seasons.
James idolized Jordan during his childhood in Akron, Ohio, and when he passed Jordan for fourth place on the NBA’s career scoring list back in March 2019, the moment moved him to tears on the Lakers’ bench. He called Jordan “an inspiration” and “the lightning in a bottle for me, because I wanted to be like him.”