NBA: New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers
Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James rained on the New York Knicks’ parade beyond handing them a 113-109 loss in overtime on Thursday.
Lakers: LeBron James’ now No. 3 in all-time wins list
With the win, James moved past Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan to No. 3 in the NBA’s all-time regular season wins list. James earned career win No. 1,002.
Jan 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) passes against the Golden State Warriors during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
The 21-time All-Star is now within striking distance of overtaking NBA legend Robert Parish for No. 2 on the list. James needs 13 more victories to pass Parish, who won 1,014 games in his career. He could do so as soon as this season, with the Lakers having 21 more games left to play. Los Angeles’ 65.6 percent win rate on the campaign would put them on pace to win 13.7 more games the rest of the way out.
From there, James could also catch the all-time leader in Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Ohio native would need 73 more wins to trump Abdul-Jabbar’s 1,074 wins. He could feasibly achieve that by playing for two more years.
Knicks almost kept James from making history on them
The Knicks have carried a reputation for allowing superstar players to go off for historic scoring nights against them. This time around, James achieved a monumental feat at their expense. However, the contest’s final outcome was close to going in New York’s favor.
Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson injured his ankle with 1:24 left to play in overtime with New York down 107-105 to L.A. Had Brunson — the favorite to win the Clutch Player of the Year award — remained in the game to close things out, the Knicks may have been able to fend off the Lakers, while keeping James from achieving the feat.
Lakers’ James is still adding to incredible career resume
Nevertheless, the four-time NBA MVP now adds another notable milestone to his career resume this season. James previously just became the first player to score 50,000 combined career regular season and playoff points against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday, reaching 50,002 with his 34-point barrage. That number has since climbed to 50,033 with his 31-point performance at home against the Knicks.
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