Source: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty
We’re barely a month into the NBA season, and LeBron James’ greatness is already on display as he breaks yet another record.
Last night, the Los Angeles Laker surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most minutes officially played in the NBA, with 66,298 minutes.
Even more impressive is that Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA career ended in 1999 when he was 42 years old. That means that James, at 38, bested the record about three years early, and with more seasons to build atop the record, it’s even further out of reach for future generations.
However, the notch on his belt came amid a blowout 138-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Lakers are 10-8 and sit in eighth place in the Western Conference, so after the game, James was less concerned with the personal accolade and more so with the team’s poor performance.
“That doesn’t mean much to me,” James said when asked about breaking Abdul-Jabbar’s record.
It wasn’t just an embarrassing loss in the city of Brotherly Love, but, at 44 points, it was the worst of James’ career and the fifth-worst loss in Lakers history.
“What needs to change in order for that not to happen again? Um, a lot,” he said, refusing to express to ESPN how the team needs to alter. “I can only speak for myself. I don’t like it.”
Lakers guard Austin Reaves had sentiments similar to James’, saying, “I mean, they made a lot of threes, we didn’t, and they beat the sh-t out of us.”
James is still defying the odds at 38 years old, putting up impressive stat lines and setting his teammates up for success while averaging 25.5 points per game, alongside 8.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists.
Rounding out the top five players with the most minutes played are Karl Malone, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kevin Garnett.
See how social media is reacting to the personal victory but embarrassing team loss below.
