JJ Redick was not happy with some of the untrue narratives being spread about LeBron James as a scorer.
LeBron James is most likely a game or two away from being the NBA's all-time leading scorer, needing just 36 more points to cross Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's point total.
Despite the magnitude of the achievement, many have tried to dismiss it as a statistic that LeBron James has earned by virtue of his longevity. While obviously someone needs to play 20 seasons or more to break this record, it shouldn't diminish it when it actually breaks.
View the original article to see embedded media.
J.J. Redick was not happy with ESPN analysts dissing LeBron's scoring ability while talking about the all-time scoring record and decided to break the biggest misconceptions about LeBron's offensive achievements in the NBA.
"LeBron James, we can talk about his longevity, and that is part of the reason why he is breaking this record. He's got the fifth-highest career scoring average all-time. Jordan is first 30.1, Wilt just behind him, 30.07, with Elgin Baylor and Kevin Durant ahead. LeBron is 0.06 points per behind Kevin Durant and 0.14 points behind Elgin Baylor. He's essentially a top-3 scorer of all-time by scoring average, it's not just a longevity thing. Better career shooting percentage from 2 than Durant and Jordan, 9th all-time in 3s. On top of that, he's fourth all-time in assists. The constant narrative about nitpicking things with LeBron, most of them are not factual."
Redick then elaborates on the false narrative of LBJ not being clutch by pointing out LeBron is the all-time leader in clutch scoring since tracking began in 1996-97 with over 2600 points, with Kobe Bryant being the only other player in the 2000s. James is second behind Bryant in game-winning or tying shots in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Is LeBron James The Greatest Scorer Of All-Time?
When it comes to how pretty someone's game is, James will never be remembered as one of the best. Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant are two modern names called the greatest scorer ever by virtue of their incredible versatility across the offensive line.
Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest scorer ever if you look at statistics and numbers. His incredible record of scoring title wins speaks to his incredible dominance over his era. However, that doesn't mean LeBron isn't among the 3 greatest scorers of all time by his pure effectiveness for such a long time.
LBJ's per-game scoring average is better than Kobe's and is close to other greats like KD. MJ stands a tier above most of everyone but we know MJ wasn't scoring like LeBron is this season at age 38. At the end of the day, everyone will differ on this pick. What is undisputed is that James deserves his respect among the all-time greatest scorers in league history.
More must-reads: