At this stage, Los Angeles Lakers veteran LeBron James’ name is prominently featured at or near the top of all NBA records. On Thursday, the Akron native achieved another historic milestone by surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leader in made field goals, just shortly after becoming the sole player to reach 43,000 career points, during the game against the Denver Nuggets. Despite this major accomplishment, it still faced criticism.

For most of his career, fans have debated about his status as the greatest player of all time, with many picking Michael Jordan over him. However, none of them denied his status as one of the best players to ever play the sport, until now, after one fan, who appeared during the latest episode of former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco’s podcast Nightcap, tried to discredit James for his achivement poiting out the longevity of his career.

But Sharpe was quick to intervene, as he used the late Kobe Bryant as a reference point to compare with the Lakers forward.

“All I know is that Kobe played 20 years. Did he break the record?” Sharpe asked the follower. “At the 20-year mark, at the one-year mark, two years, three, all the way to 20, LeBron had scored more points than Kobe… If you look at it, look at Kobe ended up with 33,000 points and played 20 seasons. LeBron had 39,000 points in 20 seasons. Look, I ain’t good with math. I told y’all, multiplication, I wouldn’t go. But last I checked, 39 is more than 33.”

Taking Shannon Sharpe’s statement a bit further, not only does LeBron James lead Kobe Bryant in points through his first twenty years in the league, but he also has more assists and rebounds than the former Purple & Gold guard. While that still might not be enough to convince many that James is a better player than the Black Mamba, it sure does indicate everyone should give James credit where it’s due.

There’s no doubt that he’s played longer, but even then, he’s competing at the highest level. The 41-year-old is arguably currently Los Angeles’ second-best player, averaging 21.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game. That too, after struggling with injuries at the start of the campaign. You don’t have to necessarily be a Lakers or a LeBron James fan to praise him for his greatness. Meanwhile, he reflects on his incredible journey up until now.

LeBron James reflects on becoming the NBA’s all-time made field goals leader

Another day, another LeBron James milestone. Despite his team’s disappointing loss on Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 15,837 made field goals to become the NBA’s all-time leader in made field goals. As expected, the 41-year-old was thrilled to become the leader in yet another category, as he expressed his emotions after the game.

“Like I said, it’s a pretty cool honor,” James said. “Obviously anytime I’m linked with some of the greats that have played this game and to know that I’ve been available to my teammates, to know that I’ve been able to do this at a high level for two decades and continue to put myself in record books in this game of basketball that I love so much in the best league in the world, it’s pretty cool and it’s very humbling.”

Over the years, it’s records like these that have become a staple for LeBron James. Despite that, he remains humble and acknowledges the weight of each of these records. Nonetheless, he would’ve been even happier had his team been on the winning side. However, unfortunately, the Lakers couldn’t get the job done against a short-handed Nuggets team, as they hope to bounce back against Indiana tonight.