LeBron on MJ: “We All Wanted To be Michael”

Though he experienced one of the worst, if not the worst season in his career, LeBron James will have something nice to remember from this campaign.

Last night, in the loss against the Denver Nuggets, King James, reached his idol, and the guy with whom everybody compares him with, Michael Jordan.

With 5 minutes and 38 seconds until the end of the second quarter, James scored a two-pointer and was fouled.

LeBron passes MJ with this basket 👑💪🏾
Now 4th in scoring all-time https://t.co/2jHP8hWIku

— LeBron James Fans (@LeBronTeam) March 7, 2019

At that moment, he jumped over MJ on the all-time scoring list, becoming No.4.

“A lot of stuff that I’ve done in my career, this ranks right up at the top (with) winning a championship,” said James, after the game, visibly overwhelmed with emotions.

This is a fantastic achievement. But what makes it even bigger is LeBron’s respect and admiration towards Air Michael.

The four-time MVP was trying to explain what kind of impact Jordan had on him and his environment, and how No.23 inspired him to be what he is today.

“Me and my best friends this is all talked about was MJ. All we talked about was MJ…. and we all wanted to be MJ. We all wanted to be MJ, every last one of us.”

"[I] wanted to be like MJ, wanted to shoot fadeaways like MJ, wanted to stick my tongue out on dunks like MJ … I wanted kids to look up to me at some point like MJ."

–@KingJames on Michael Jordan's impact on his childhood pic.twitter.com/w70wQCmo2o

— ESPN (@espn) March 7, 2019

James was very emotional during the game also. While a tribute video made especially for this occasion was going on, the player was sitting at the bench with a towel in his face. Footages of him scoring his 10,000th or 20,000th point, game-winners, etc, were making the crowd enjoy, while James, battled with emotions, not wanting to lift his head up.

“It was very emotional,” he said. “I wanted to look up at the scoreboard to kind of see what was going on up there, but at the same time I didn’t want to show what was going on behind that towel.”

LBJ dropped 31 on Denver’s defense, and he now stands at 32,311 points. MJ is left behind at 32,292. Three more legends are in front of him, Kobe Bryant 33,643, Karl Malone 36,928, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387.

The way he plays, it seems that he might surpass Black Mamba already next season. It is hard to believe that the Lakers could have another bad episode like this one, which means that his stats and will to play could be only higher.

But James doesn’t want for his game to be focused on points and scoring. According to one of the best players of all times, there is much more in his performances than plain executing. His best play wasn’t related with scoring, but totally the opposite, defending.

Game seven of the 2017 NBA Finals and the block on Andre Iguodala was maybe the defining play of his career. The Cavaliers came back after trailing 3-1, and won the title, becoming the first team to do such a thing.

This increased James legacy and his legend, and because of that, he isn’t willing to be labeled as a primarily offensive player, even though he is one of the best of all times.

“I don’t have to score the ball to make an impact in the basketball game,” he said once.

And really if we see his stats this season, and throughout the whole career, James contribution was diversified and not measured only in points.

THE GAME CHANGER. 🖐🏆

It's THAT LeBron James block from the 2016 NBA Finals from all angles! #AllForOne pic.twitter.com/LwGIDLCp4t

— NBA UK (@NBAUK) December 30, 2017

He is hoping that he might become an idol for the young generations like Jordan was to him, and inspire other kids to become great and to create their own legacy, That would be the biggest honor of all.

James wasn’t fully able to explain the magnitude of Jordan’s impact on him.

“You guys have no idea, man — and I am trying to give it to you guys — but you guys have no idea what MJ did for me and my friends growing up.”

LeBron and the Lakers are hosting Celtics this Saturday in an NBA classic. Two of the most successful franchises in the history of the league are clashing, and this promises great fun.