Beating Mike: LeBron James Surpasses Michael Jordan’s All-Time Scoring

Image Credit: Robert Laberge/Getty Images

LeBron James had drawn Michael Jordan Comparisons almost since before he entered the NBA. He’s always wanted to be like Mike, but on the night of March 6, 2019, he surpassed him.

James and many other young kids who had the honor of watching Jordan during their childhood idolized his greatness. What was there not to like? Rabid competitiveness backed up by perfect play, an unblemished finals record, and the ability to soar the air like a graceful bird. His Airness gave the youth plenty of fantastic reasons to aspire to be like Mike.

During his career, Jordan found himself breaking many records and winning an insane amount of awards. He also worked his way up the all-time scoring list, having placed third before Kobe Bryant passed him in 2014. Fast forward five years and it was James’ turn to rank higher than Jordan. On a night where all he needed was 13 points to claim the honor, James ended up pouring in 31 in a losing effort to the Denver Nuggets. Still, when he converted his and-1 play, the crowd and players stopped to acknowledge greatness. Cameras spotted James on the sideline getting extremely emotional during a timeout.

“M.J. was an inspiration,” James said. “M.J. was the lightning in a bottle for me, because I wanted to be like him. He was everything.” Jordan didn’t hesitate to issue out a congratulatory response to his place in history getting moved back. “I want to congratulate LeBron on achieving another great milestone during his amazing career,” Jordan said through his spokeswoman, Estee Portnoy.

If this accomplishment teaches you anything, it’s that a kid coming from a single-parent home in Akron, Ohio can achieve what many would deem as crazy.