QUESTION: You are the best scorer in history.
What emotion is going through you?
ANSWER: "I don't think I've realized it yet, actually. Obviously when it happened, I wanted to embrace that moment, to see my family and my friends, all the people who have been with me since I was started this journey, before I even played in the NBA. It was very emotional. Even though I tried to fully live this moment, it was a little confusing, but really cool."
Q: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was there to see you break his record and pass the torch...
LA Lakers legend LeBron James with the "ball" of best scorer in NBA history just presented by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, February 7, 2023 in Los Angeles © Harry How / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP
A: "I think it's great for basketball. I'm a historian of the game, I know like you what guys like Kareem, Wilt (Chamberlain) and +MJ+ (Michael Jordan), and Magic (Johnson) represent. , and (Larry) Bird, Oscar Robertson...I could talk all night about these legends. It's an honor to be in the same discussion with the greats."
Q: Where does this feat stand among all the ones you've accomplished?
LeBron James in the arms of another Los Angeles Lakers legend, Magic Johnson, after becoming the leading scorer in NBA history, February 7, 2023 in Los Angeles © RONALD MARTINEZ / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP
A: "The titles (he won four) remain at the top of the list. Because my culture is that of the championship, since the first day I played for a club, at the age of eight "Because I'm a team-first guy. And they're great teammates, great coaches who prepare you every day to be great yourself. I've been able to do amazing things and I hope that I could do more before I finish."
Q: Your career is not over yet, but what is your view on these 20 years already spent in the NBA?
LeBron James emotional at the microphone after breaking the record for the best scorer in NBA history, on the floor of the Crypto.com Arena, February 7, 2023 in Los Angeles © RONALD MARTINEZ / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP
A: "There's a place near our house in Ohio, in Sandusky, called Cedar Point. And every year they made new roller coasters. And we went there often, we tried them and we came out feeling so excited. We said to ourselves + I want to do it again +. But, I see my career a bit like that, like one of the great rides of Cedar Point. Sometimes it turns your stomach, you are excited, you scream, sometimes you can't, you can't even breathe. But you always want to do it again. It's a pleasure, an honor to have, during these 20 years of career, been able to go through ups and downs down, hardships and always staying on top. I did it my way. I didn't want to imitate anyone."
Q: Do you think being the all-time leading scorer makes you the greatest player of all time?
A: "Oh... Let's say if I was a general manager of a starting franchise and I had the first choice, I would take myself. Because I believe in myself, I know what I bring. I'm a guy who's been able to transform his game for 20 years, excel at any position, I can play point guard, I've been a leader in assists, I've been able to doing everything this game wanted me to do. But none of that takes anything away from anyone else. There have been so many great players... But I can't take anyone but me." .
LeBron James celebrates the NBA scoring record he has just broken on February 7, 2023 in Los Angeles © RONALD MARTINEZ / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Statements taken at a press conference
© 2023 AFP