CLEVELAND (AP) – Still chasing championships, LeBron James caught – and passed – Michael Jordan on one list.
James broke Jordan’s NBA record by scoring at least 10 points in his 867th straight regular-season game, a streak the Cavaliers superstar could make nearly untouchable by the end of his brilliant career.
James entered Friday’s game against New Orleans sharing the mark with Jordan, one of his boyhood heroes. But with one of his patented two-handed dunks midway through the first quarter, James moved ahead of Jordan, whose streak stretched from 1986 to 2001.
James finished with 27 points as the Cavs avoided dropping in the standings with a 107-102 win over the Pelicans.
After breaking Jordan’s mark, James was handed the ball and he received a standing ovation from the sellout Quicken Loans Arena crowd, which included pop superstar Justin Timberlake.
James last failed to score in double digits on Jan. 5, 2007, against Milwaukee. In the time since, he has won three NBA championships, left Cleveland for Miami and returned, and established himself as one of the best players in league history.
At 33, he’s playing as well as ever and next month he’ll head into the playoffs attempting to reach his eighth straight NBA Finals.
James never set out to break Jordan’s mark, but by staying healthy and being consistent, he moved himself to the top of another statistical list.
And with the end of his career seemingly years away, James is poised to re-write history some more.
“It’s not like I set out to say that I want to be the No. 1 in scoring 10 points, double digits or consecutive games or whatever that and whatnot,” James said. “But any time like a statistical category comes up and I’m able to accomplish something like that, I mean it’s pretty incredible. It’s been like 11 years that I’ve been able to accomplish this feat so I’ve been able to take care of my body, that’s one, and I’ve been around some great teammates and coaches and two organizations that have allowed me to be who I am, so that’s two.
“And just going out and playing for the joy of the game.”
To put James’ double-digit scoring mark in perspective, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s career scoring leader, scored at least 10 in 787 consecutive games. Among current players, Houston’s James Harden has done it in 257 games – 410 behind James.