J-Speaks: High Honor Received And NBA All-Time Chart Climb of LeBron James

Cleveland Cavaliers’ perennial All-Star forward LeBron James has had a remarkable career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) that can be described in three words. Consistent, versatile, and durable. That is how he has won four NBA regular season MVP Awards; been a three-time NBA champion, including leading the Cavs to their first overcoming a 3-1 series deficit against the Golden State Warriors this past June; a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2012 and 2016) 12-time All-Star and two-time All-Star Game MVP; 12-time All-NBA selection (10-time First-Team; two-time Second-Team selection); Rookie of the Year (2004) and a three-time Finals MVP. James climb another couple of step up the NBA charts earlier this month and received a very high honor for the second time in his eventual Hall of Fame career.

By scoring on a driving layup with 6:58 left in the Cavaliers 114-84 win over the Miami Heat (9-20) back on Dec. 9, James moved passed Hall of Famer of the then Washington Bullets Elvin Hayes into ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, where he currently has scored at that moment 27,408 points. He was removed from the game close to a minute later and received a resounding applause from those in attendance at the Quicken Loans Arena.

On that night, James who moved passed Hall of Famer and two-time champion with the Houston Rockets Hakeem Olajuwon on the all-time scoring list earlier this season had 27 points on 12 for 22 from the field with eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

“My motivation is for the love of the game and the process,” James said to FOX Sports Cavs’ sideline reporter Allie Clifton.

“It’s not even the individuals I’m going against. It’s not the team I’m going against. It’s about the process and my love for the game. I try to be consistent every single night for my team and they know what they’re going to get out of me. That’s defending. That’s rebounding. That’s passing. Trying to put the ball in the hole a little bit as well. Just try to stay consistent and if I can do that, then I’ve done my job.

Along with becoming the ninth best scorer in NBA history, James is now second among active players with at least 23,000 points scored in his career. He only trails Dallas Mavericks’ forward Dirk Nowitzki, who has scored 29,552 points.

Trailing Nowitzki and James are Los Angeles Clippers forward/guard Paul Pierce (26.341 points); Memphis Grizzlies guard/forward Vince Carter (24,147 points) and New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (23,048 points).

Just 24 hours later, James reached another in the Cavs’ 116-105 win versus the Charlotte Hornets (16-13) back on Dec. 10 recording the 7,000 assists of his career in a 44-point, 10 assists, nine rebound performance, going 17 for 24 from the field, including 5 for 10 from three-point range with three steals.

James also became the first player in NBA history to score 27,000-plus points, grab 7,000-plus rebounds (7,235) and dish out 7,000-plus assists (7,014). This was also the 31^st game of James’ career he fell short of a triple-double, which he has three so far this season and 45 in his career, which is seventh in NBA history.

“Obviously, I know we came off that six-day three game road trip. First game back yesterday was very tough on us and I knew this was going to be a tough game,” James, who scored the last 17 straight points in the final period said to Clifton after the Cavs’ fourth win in succession back on Dec. 10.

“As the leader of the team, it’s mind over matter and just tried to press the tempo. Not tell myself I’m tired and gout and try to do my job.”

In the Cavs’ fifth win in a row versus the surging Memphis Grizzlies (18-12) 103-86, James finished with 23 points, eight assists, six boards and three steals, which left him two points shy of moving past the late great Hall of Famer Moses Malone into eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

In the most fitting of ways in the 114-108 overtime win on Tuesday night at the Milwaukee Bucks (13-13), James, who sat out the back-end of the back-to-back loss at the Grizzlies 93-85 back on Dec. 14 moved passed Malone into seventh place by scoring his first bucket of the night on an offensive put back on a three-point miss from J.R. Smith in the deep left corner at the 9:15 mark of the opening period. James finished the evening with 34 points going 12 for 25 from the field, including 5 for 9 from three-point range with 12 rebounds and seven assists.

In anticipation of passing one of the great scorers and one of the best rebounders in the game’s history, James, who now has scored 27,442 points in his eventual Hall of Fame career had a chance to reflect on a moment he and Malone, who also came into the NBA right out of high school shared before his first pro game 14 years ago.

“My Rookie year. My first game in Sacramento. Came to my hotel room in Sacramento. We ate pregame meal and just talked about what it’s like to be a Rookie in the league,” James said to reporters on the morning of the game.

“Called Uncle Mo every time. Because he was just there in the beginning for me. To see his name there and to see me with the notion of what could happen tonight is just very special.”

Looking at James’ pro career, while he has scored a lot of points in the league, he has always been a pass first guy. Always about seeing his teammates succeed before getting all the accolades on his own.

To put that into perspective, he is averaging a career-high nine assists (9.0) this season, which is just 0.4 higher than the 8.6 he averaged back in the 2009-10 NBA campaign.

“The number one thing that I can say that I’ve been with some great teammates,” James said to Clifton. “They’ve made those shots. I don’t get the assists without those guys making the shots. I just try to put the ball where all they got to do is catch and finish. Catch and shoot…It’s an unbelievable accomplishment and I give the credit to my teammates and the coaching I’ve had over the years that allowed me to do what I do best.”

Those great teammates James is talking about that he has now are All-Stars Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert to name a few and they all came to the forefront these last two victories of their five-game winning streak as James rose the NBA charts.

In the Cavs’ win versus the Heat, Love had his 15^th double-double of the season with a game-high of 28 points along with 15 rebounds. Irving had 23 points on 9 for 15 shooting and Shumpert had 10 points off the bench.

Versus the Hornets, Love had 22 points, six boards and three steals, Thompson had his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Irving struggled going 4 for 13 from the field with 11 points and five assists, but Shumpert picked up the slack 16 points and five boards off the bench going 4 for 6 from three-point range.

James’ performance by leading the Cavs’ to their first ever NBA title last June, along with the start they have been off to this season is among the many reasons he was selected as Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year for 2016.

The 2016 Finals MVP was officially presented with the award at a ceremony in New York City, NY this past Monday night and this coming Monday, James will be on the Dec. 19 SI issue for SOTY, marking the 26^th time in his career he will be featured on the front cover of Sports Illustrated, with the story done by Lee Jenkins. His 26^th cover is third most behind Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and the late great Muhammad Ali.  

James was introduced by Hip-Hop icon, and founder of the full-service entertainment company ROC NATION Jay-Z with and introduction that only he could deliver that combined James’ amazing basketball career with his life off the court.

“He’s a dedicated family man who married his childhood sweetheart Savannah [Brinson]. Has three lovely children. The son who honors and worships his mother Gloria [Marie James]. The friend who put his posse in position. I know. We know where we come from. We do understand where we come from. The only difference between us and someone who has their MBA from Wharton, Sloan, Berkley [University of California, Berkley] or Stanford is opportunity. LeBron James has provided his friends with that opportunity and as we witness their development and that we looking up at the scoreboard, very few. Very few business men are better than Maverick Carter, Rich Paul, Randy Mims and all the rest of the posse.”

A lot that intro was not just a celebration and respect to James, who saw that his friends from childhood helped him to build his brand and image to where it is today, it was a dig at Knicks’ president Phil Jackson, who earlier this month threw some major shade at James and his friends when he called them a posse.

Essentially Jackson called Paul, James’ agent of Klutch Sports and Carter and Mims, who formed agent and sports-marketing company LRMR, which takes care of James’ marketing a bunch of individuals who just there to be along for the ride in an ESPN interview back in November.

James as expected did not take it well and responded with his words and his play when the Cavs beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on national television 126-94 back on Dec. 7 on ESPN. James had 25 points, going 7 for 10 from the field and 10 for 14 from the charity stripe with six boards, seven assists and two block shots. Irving led the way with 28 points on 9 for 17 shooting, including 4 for 6 from long range with six assists. Love had 21 points, while Shumpert had 14 points off the pine, connecting on 4 for 6 from three-point territory.

“I’m motivated for the love of the game, I’m motivated by the process, I’m motivated knowing that my kids are watching me tonight on national television,” James said after the game. “So, I don’t need much more.”

For LeBron James, it is not about breaking records. It’s not about him or about making himself look great. It is about putting yourself in the best position to be great and hopefully you can bring others that are around you like your teammates and friends who want to be great themselves along for the ride.

Becoming great does not happen overnight. It takes a lot of work. A lot of blood, sweat and tears and making a commitment to never stop getting better. It also takes motivation of seeing someone who did not have the same chances you had, which James touched on in his acceptance speech for SI’s Sportsperson of the Year for the second time in his career, which was presented by Symetra, retirement, benefits, life.

“At the end of the day, I’m not standing up here if you four gentlemen, Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], Jim Brown, Muhammad [Ali], Bill Russell sit at that table in the 1960s and no matter, it wasn’t about you guys. The most four dominant athletes at that time didn’t care what happened to them. They sacrificed everything that could have happened to them. Could have been stripped of everything that they’ve accomplished to that point. Can’t play football no more. Can’t play basketball no more. Can’t fight no more. But their calling and their reason for doing what they had to do was for a night like tonight.”

It was also for someone like James to stand up and speak out and being an active voice speaking out against racial inequality, gun violence, police violence and not to mention helping during the 2016 Presidential campaign for Democratic Candidate, former Secretary of State, and former First Lady Hillary Clinton.  

It has been a banner year for the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft out of Akron, OH by essentially his hometown team. He has received individual accolades. He led his hometown team to their first title in franchise history and the city’s first pro sports title in 52 years and set a new standard for what it takes to be great both in the field of play and off in pro sports. The best part is he is far from finished and what will happen next will are all excited to see.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 12/10/16 8 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by State Farm with Casey Stern, Steve Smith and Dennis Scott; 12/11/16 6 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime, presented by Kia Motors with Kristen Ledlow, David Aldridge and Sam Mitchell; 12/13/16 5:30 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia Motors with Casey Stern, Dennis Scott and Brent Barry; 12/13/16 3:30 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN 2 with presented by Dewar’s with Rachel Nichols, Zach Lowe and Tracy McGrady; 12/21/16 8 p.m. contest between the Cleveland Cavaliers versus Milwaukee Bucks on FOX Sports Ohio, with Fred McLeod, Austin Carr and Allie Clifton; www.espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/cle; www.espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/1966/lebron-james; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James; www.rocnation.com/about and www.si.com/nba/2016/12/12/lebron-james-sportsperson-year-sports-illustrated-cover.