Lost in the Los Angeles Lakers’ disappointing, inexcusable and possibly fatal loss on Sunday to the New Orleans Pelicans was the fact LeBron James achieved yet another milestone.
He had a great statistical game: 39 points on 14-of-27 shooting from the field and 7-of-13 from 3-point land, plus nine rebounds and five assists.
Unfortunately, he sprained his ankle in the second quarter, and it presumably led to him not pushing the pace or attacking the basket afterward.
But it didn’t prevent him from passing one of the all-time greats (and a former Laker as well) in a pretty important statistical category.
LeBron James has passed Karl Malone for 2nd place on the NBA's all-time field goals made list. pic.twitter.com/wryNZReEBM
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 28, 2022
Congrats to @KingJames of the @Lakers for moving up to 2nd on the all-time FIELD GOALS MADE list! #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/NxcfS7snbl
— NBA (@NBA) March 28, 2022
Earlier this month, James surpassed Karl Malone in the category of career points to move into second place in that department as well.
The four-time MVP continues to pile up the numbers and milestones this season. Coming into Sunday’s contest, he was averaging 30 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 52.3% from the field.
This season’s scoring title, which would be his second, is definitely within reach.
But it’s a shame that all this will probably go up in smoke, as it’s looking more likely than ever that the Lakers will miss the play-in tournament.
