NBA boss Adam Silver revealed the league’s special plan to honor LeBron James when he breaks the scoring record.
James, 38, is closing in fast on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time points total and is on pace to break it in February.
LeBron James is closing in fast on the NBA all-time scoring recordCredit: Reuters
James is hot on the heels of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring recordCredit: Reuters
LeBron was on 38,024 points as of Thursday afternoon with the record standing at 38,387.
And commissioner Silver revealed: “There’s no doubt we would stop that game and record for history, the ball, the basket.
“We would stop it and make sure that we’ve done our job as archivists in the NBA.
“At the same time, there is that balance that they will be playing against a team that will very much want to win that night and not be distracted.
“It’s almost likely we would do something in the moment and then plan a larger celebration.
“Interestingly enough, just calculating out when it might happen, it seems at this point it’s likely to happen before our All-Star break.
“If it were to happen before our All-Star break, it seems like the All-Star in Salt Lake City this year would be the perfect opportunity.”
The Lakers have four nationally televised games in the United States in the month of February.
But they are on local TV only for the remaining six contests.
Silver added: “We would look at making sure that game is national in the United States and globally if he’s anywhere near a reasonable amount of points.”
Silver said that he wanted to “let events unfold” before reflecting.
But the NBA boss added: “Just the physical endurance to play that many years – all the travel, the wear and tear on his body, the lack of sleep and 3.5 games a week, season after season, how he takes care of himself.
“I hope the young players pay attention to that. He’s always working on his body, working on his sleep or nutrition.
“It’s hard to talk to him without having some device plugged into his body.
“The physical and mental skill it takes to power through that many seasons to continue performing at a high level night after night.
“And then to be in a position to break the record is remarkable and quite a testament to him.
“He’s not just hanging around at the end of his career too, he’s still playing at a high level.
“Players like this only come along once in a generation so I hope people think about that when watching LeBron.”
Silver was speaking ahead of the NBA Paris Game on Thursday.
NBA returned to the French capital for the first time since Covid with a clash between the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons.
Zach LaVine led the way with 30 points in a 126-108 win for the Bulls.
LaVin said: “Being out here has been great the whole experience, my family has been here.
“The culture, the fans and environment was electric.
“We played the right way, we were a little sluggish in the beginning but it was good.”
