Despite once striking him in the family jewels and getting suspended from an NBA Finals game for it, Draymond Green has nothing but love for LeBron James.
The Golden State Warriors star Green said this week on an episode of his podcast for "The Volume" that he plans to be in attendance for the game that James breaks the NBA’s all-time scoring record. Green plans to attend even if the game takes place on the same day that the Warriors are playing.
“Congrats to LeBron, second [leading scorer of] all-time,” said Green. “Probably in 50 more games or so, 50 or 70 games or so he’ll be first all-time. And I can’t wait to see that.
“Steve Kerr, I’m throwing this out there right now,” Green added. “If LeBron James is passing the all-time scoring record and we have a game, I’m going to LeBron’s game and witness[ing] history.”
James, who currently has 36,985 career points, just surpassed Karl Malone for second all-time on the NBA’s scoring list. That places James 1,402 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387. If James averages about 25 points per game the rest of the way, he will surpass Abdul-Jabbar in roughly 55 more games, potentially as soon as next season.
The point will be moot if the Warriors are off on the day James goes for the record. But Green’s comments almost make us want to root for a scheduling conflict. Will Green be listed as out for personal reasons if he misses a game just to watch James break the record? Will he be fined by the league? What if James comes up a point or two short of the record and forces Green to come back on the next night as well? These are the questions we have.
In spite of their rivalry on the court, James and Green are friends as well as business partners. Green also recently stood up for James in a notable way. Now he is planning something even more notable to be there for James if or when The King makes sports history.
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