Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James passes Dirk Nowitzki on all-time scorers list

James entered Saturday with 31,167 career points. He needed 21 to overtake Nowitzki and become the active leader of the game in points scored. Nowitzki is currently injured in his left ankle, which means that James has probably overtaken him for good.

James got his 21st point on a 17-foot jumper from the right wing with 7:51 left in the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs. He finished with 35 points, a high in the season, bringing his career total to 31,202, but the Lakers dropped from 110 to 106.

It was James' 432nd career match with 30 points, overtaking Kobe Bryant for the fourth time of all time on this list.

James passed Shaquille O 'Neal in sixth place on the list of all-time scoring goals in the third quarter. O 'Neal had 11,330 in 19 years of career. After being 13-in-21 on the field Saturday night, James scored 11,339 goals.

"The guys I played with, played with, watched before even arriving in the league, admired, was impressed," said James about O-Neal and Nowitzki after the match . "Dirk has always been one of my favorite players, and I think Shaq is the most dominant player to ever play this game. So, for me to be in the same conversation with these guys in everything we talk about until basketball, it's a tribute.

"When it comes to being humble and knowing where I come from, I come from Akron, Ohio, a small town where most African American children do not escape. I can do something like that, I give everything back to my hometown and kids who are like me. "

to play

LeBron expresses his gratitude for being in the same conversation as Dirk Nowitzki and Shaquille O 'Neal after rising to 6th place in the list of markers of all time.

James, who scored 2,251 points last season, is poised to pass two retired legends on the all-time scorers list before the end of his first season with the Lakers. Wilt Chamberlain (31.419) is fifth and Michael Jordan (32.292) fourth.

The top three scorers in league history have all played for the Lakers at some point in their career. Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) is first, Karl Malone (36,928 points) is second and Kobe Bryant (33,643 points) is third.

The Lakers coach, Luke Walton, praised James and Nowitzki as "unstoppable" scorers.

"I had to try to keep both when I was playing, and there's nothing you can do," Walton said earlier Saturday. "You can play an excellent defense, and they always succeed, all you try to do when you play guys of this level is to make it difficult for them." Do not defile them. "They take a lot of shots to get their points, but you can not do anything to stop one or the other of those guys."

James and Nowitzki competed in the 2011 NBA finals, while the Nowitzki Mavericks of Dallas won the 4-2 series after James's Miami Heat took a 2-1 lead.

In this series, after which Nowitzki was named final MVP, James coughed off the arena with his teammate at the time, Dwyane Wade, after a practice session mocking Nowitzki, who was playing against the symptoms of the flu.

"For me, it was already over with the Final," Nowitzki said when asked to come back to the subject. "It was not like extra motivation or anything, I do not keep a lot of grudges.

"I said [it was childish and immature] in the press conference at the time, and that was all. I felt a little disrespectful because I have never done anything wrong in my career. I do not have to. When I can play, I can play. I always try to be there for my team. But for me, at that time, it was over. I just kept it moving. "

Since then, the two infallible members of the Hall of Fame have always strived to value each other on the basketball court.

"It's an honor to speak like this from one of the greatest players of all time," Nowitzki said of James' public compliments. "I really appreciate it's humiliating to hear your name in conversation with some of the greats."

Although Nowitzki claims that his relationship with James is not limited to brief casual conversations before or after a game, his appreciation of the most useful player four times is clear.

"I imagine that he hears stuff about him – that he's one of the greatest of all time," Nowitzki said. "There is a certain mutual respect, every time we see each other, we say hello, whatever, congratulations for everything and just keep it going, it's probably the relationship I have with the Most of these guys: mutual respect, and we say hello … But the simple fact of being in the same conversation as some of these guys – LeBron is one – it's just an honor to To be among the best players of all time. "