It’s round two! This time, LeBron James grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Two years ago, the 40-year-old surpassed Kareem Abdul Jabbar to become the all-time scoring leader, and seven years ago, he surpassed Michael Jordan for playoff scoring leader. Tonight, he ran far away to a place, a lonely place at the top of the mountain. HISTORY! He became the first-ever player to cross the 50,000-point mark in the league. The way he reached it was also interesting! (The shot selection)

The LA crowd gets another chance to go through the hype all over again. In the last game against the Clippers, LeBron James needed 18 points to reach the historic milestone. With 7-odd minutes left in the game, he needed just one point. Guess what? Bron left everyone in the Crypto.com Arena on the edge of the seat only to leave them on a cliffhanger. The Akron Hammer couldn’t drop the golden basket.

Remember the fadeaway shot from the paint to surpass Abdul-Jabbar, the LA crowd expected something similar. But the superstar made them wait a little longer. 

Tonight, taking on the Pelicans, James teased the fans for a bit and took his first shot at the 8-minute mark. A classic pass from his new teammate, Luka Doncic, and he buried a three-pointer from the wing. (A three-pointer, seriously? The only shot selection that JJ Redick had problems with!) The superstar has 50,002 points. “22 seasons, 40 years of age, LeBron James 50,002 points. And he is not done. That’s the good part about it all,” exclaimed the announcer.

Now, the NBA world has come to a standstill and the only word echoes and that is ‘GOAT’. Some might disagree with the title, but King James deserves it without any objections, at least for tonight! Anyway, coming back to the shot selection, what’s the jazz? Let’s find out.

LeBron James & JJ Redick: The three-pointer problem

We all know the lead-up to JJ Redick’s job as the Lakers head coach. The former NBA star sat down with LeBron James for a podcast show during the 2024 off-season. Little did the fans know that the same man would coach Bron and the Lakers’ roster in the next season. Notably, the duo often discussed how the three-point shots have changed the dynamics of the game in recent times. 

James should have taken the hint. The superstar, who plays an all-round game, had one problem after JJ sat in the coach’s chair. During his introductory press meeting, he said, “He and I have joked about this… He shot over 40 percent from three this year. I want him shooting threes.”

While we thought JJ would let that slide. Looks like he was serious about it. It went to an extent where Bron had to confess. Last month, after defeating the Warriors with an emphatic (42-17-8) stat line, he said, “JJ still wants me to shoot more threes. I’m still reluctant to do that ’cause I’m just playing an all-around game… I don’t know, maybe we’ll see.” 

Last season, James recorded a career-high 41.0 3-point percentage. This season, it took a slight hit, as he stands at 39.1% but the only difference is he has taken more shot attempts. The JJ effect. It was ironic that he had to surpass that 50,000 mark with a three-pointer. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.