LeBron James overtook Dirk Nowitzki on the All-Time Scoring List of the NBA in the course of the defeat against San Antonio Spurs and is now in sixth place. According to Nowitzki, the superstar of the Los Angeles Lakers even has a chance of one day being number one.
“If he stays healthy and keeps moving, he has a chance at Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar],” Nowitzki told ESPN. “His numbers are incredible, and he doesn’t seem to slow down. What he did last year in his 15th season was incredible. If he goes on like this, he can overtake Kareem.”
Center legend Abdul-Jabbar had played 38,387 points in 1,560 career games, making him the record holder. James currently stands at 31,202 points in 1,149 games, Nowitzki at 31,187 points in 1,471 games.
James overtook Shaquille O’Neal at the field goals during the course of the Spurs game and is now also sixth in this respect. “They’re players I played against, I played with, I looked up to before I was in the league I admired,” James said after the game.
“Dirk has always been one of my favorite players, and I think Shaq is the most dominant player who has ever played basketball. That I can show up in a conversation with people like that is something special for me,” James continued. “Most African-American children never get out of the small town of Akron, where I come from. That’s why I always give something like this back to my hometown and to the children who are just like me.”
Nowitzki and James had played against each other in the 2011 finals and had experienced a controversy during the series when James and fellow player Dwyane Wade made fun of an illness of Nowitzki. Since then, however, the two legends have respected each other enormously and, as Nowitzki now said, the subject was quickly settled for him anyway.
“For me, the finals were already done,” said the 40-year-old. “That didn’t add any motivation or anything. I’m not the kind of guy who’d grow a long grudge. It was a bit disrespectful back then and I said that, but it was eaten for me. I just moved on.”
Meanwhile James has already emphasized several times how much he appreciates Nowitzki. He now gave it back: “It is an honour when one of the best of all times talks about you like this”, says Nowitzki. “I’m very grateful for that. I suppose he hears what I say about him – he’s one of the greatest.”