LeBron James is one of the most celebrated athletes of all time in the NBA, so there aren’t many firsts left for him. But, James took to social media on Friday, December 20, to announce a new, career-defining announcement.
This first goes beyond James’ personal career, too, and is a record that he’s snagged over the entire NBA.
LeBron James is ‘Thankful’ and ‘Blessed’ for Latest Career Milestone
James took to Instagram to announce that he’s now the NBA all-time leader in minutes. To snag the honor, James surpassed six-time NBA MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most minutes played in the history of the NBA.
“Last night became the NBA All-Time Leader in Minutes!” James stated on Instagram. “Crazy to even think about! Very thankful and blessed! Been a helluva ride. 1 million minutes Wilt style,” he added with a bunch of laughing face emojis.
James hit that milestone on Thursday, December 19, when the Los Angeles Lakers were taking on the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers won that game, in a 113-100 victory.
The NBA player with the third most minutes is Karl Malone, followed by Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett, according to the NBA. Abdul-Jabbar has 57,446 minutes played, Malone notches 54,852, Dirk Nowitzki has 51,368 and Kevin Garnett notches 50,418.
James was already the all-time leader in career points but was behind Abdul-Jabbar in minutes. He surpassed with 34 minutes in the game, giving James 57,471 in 1,517 games played.
On top of the honor of being the NBA’s all-time leader in minutes, he also hit the 10,000-point threshold with Los Angeles. He’s now No. 13 in Lakers team history at 10,002. That’s a special feat, especially since James obviously hasn’t been with the Lakers for his full career.
The Lakers celebrated the star player’s 10,000-point honor in a social post stating, “Welcome to the LA 10K club, King.”
LeBron James Has a ‘Commitment to the Craft’
Following the Lakers’ win on Thursday, James spoke with the media about the win and his big game.
“It’s just a commitment to the craft and to the passion and love I have for the game,” he said. “I don’t take much time in the offseason. A little bit more time now.”
He added that he “didn’t take much time in the offseason, no matter if I was making the 10 Finals appearances back to back and just always trying to keep my body in tip-top shape.”
So, James’ secret to success, partly, is not resting too much during the offseason and making sure he stays in shape year-round.
Following Thursday’s game, James has played a record 11,838 playoff minutes and a total of around 70,000 total minutes since he joined the NBA straight out of high school as the No. 1 overall pick in 2003.
Of course, there’s been chatter about James possibly being traded, but former 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony doesn’t think it will happen. Anthony, who once played with James, discussed the possibility of James heading elsewhere on his podcast, “7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony & Kid Mero.”
“LeBron makes the trade so, if he wants to get traded, he’ll get traded,” Anthony said. “I think that window closed shut. Maybe last year or before that…”
