Tuesday was a historic night in the NBA. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most regular-season points in a career, a record that had stood for 39 years. Many wondered if it would ever be broken, but James accomplished the feat putting another feather in his cap of what has been one of the best basketball careers we have ever seen.
Not only is James the all-time leading scorer, but he is more than likely going to finish top-three in assists as well. He has never been regarded as a dominant scorer, but that is something he needs to be recognized for more as his career average of 27.23 points is fifth all-time and only 0.13 behind Elgin Baylor for third.
While the game on Tuesday was stopped to celebrate James’ achievement, people flooded the court. Teammates, friends and family all gave him recognition for accomplishing something not even he ever thought would be possible.
However, during all of the celebrations, there was something that stood out. Many people caught a glimpse of Anthony Davis not looking too excited on the bench. It was something that Davis was asked about following the team’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. He provided an explanation that makes a lot of sense.
“It’s about the game,” Davis said. “I mean, we’re losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a game we needed. And I was pissed off that we were losing. It’s that simple. It’s nothing that has to do with Bron. He knows that. Everybody else is outside looking in, it’s their opinion. But I was pissed off that we were losing the game.”
NBA NEWS: Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis & LeBron James Updates
That is certainly a valid response and most likely true. Attempting to analyze how a player is feeling in the heat of the moment is a tireless exercise that Davis now has to provide and answer and explanation for.
His feelings about losing are warranted. Only 26 games are remaining in the regular season after Thursday’s defeat and the Lakers cannot afford to keep losing games. Especially to teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Oklahoma City is one of the teams ahead of the Lakers in the standings and they now hold a two-game lead over Los Angeles. The Lakers are 2.5 games outside of a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament, which is what they should be aiming to achieve at the very least.
NBA NEWS: Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Davis & LeBron James Updates
The franchise is certainly hopeful that better days are on the horizon as they made some major additions ahead of the trade deadline. D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Mo Bamba were all acquired, joining Rui Hachimura as pre-deadline additions to the roster. If they can make the playoff field, the Lakers aren’t a team anyone will want to face when firing on all cylinders.
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