LeBron James made history yet again on Sunday night, as he passed Michael Jordan for the most career 30-point games in NBA history (regular season and playoffs). While many celebrated James' latest accomplishment, former NBA player Ron Harper wasn't all too impressed by it.
"How many games did each player play??"
Safe to say, that post from Harper, who was a teammate of Jordan on the Chicago Bulls, wasn't a very popular one among LeBron fans. He has not been all that complimentary toward James over the years and I can't say I am surprised he responded in that fashion to that post by NBA TV.
As for how many games they played, Jordan was featured in 1,251 of them, while LeBron just set that new record in his 1,768th game. That's quite the difference in games, and it speaks to how good of a scorer Jordan was. He remains the NBA's all-time leader for career scoring average in the regular season at 30.1 points per game and the playoffs as well at 33.4 points per game. The Chicago Bulls icon won a record 10 scoring titles, too, and was just a scoring machine.
LeBron, meanwhile, has averaged 27.1 points per game in the regular season and 28.5 points per game in the playoffs. Those are very impressive numbers, especially considering how long he has played.
James, surprisingly, has only ever won one scoring title, but it's because he has never been that volume scorer that Jordan was. It is also why the latter has more 40-point games (211 to 106), 50-point games (39 to 15), and 60-point games (5 to 1) in the regular season and playoffs.
LeBron has just been very consistent over the years, though, and this 2023-24 season is set to be the 20th consecutive one in which he has averaged at least 25.0 points per game. That consistency and longevity are why he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
Tracy McGrady Left Out LeBron James From His Mt. Rushmore Of Scorers For The 2010s
For all of James' scoring feats, he never seems to quite get the respect as a scorer from most of his peers and former players. Tracy McGrady shared his Mt. Rushmore of 2010 scorers and didn't include LeBron in it.
"Melo, KD, James Harden, and Chef Curry man. Those are my four. KD is arguably one of the most efficient shooters ever. The things Harden was doing night in and night out in that Rockets uniform was incredible man. Steph Curry, the world's greatest shooter, has averaged over 30 in the league. And Melo, when it comes to one-on-one, Melo is in the conversation of those who cannot be stopped."
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course, but I would have LeBron there over Carmelo Anthony. Anthony is undoubtedly one of the greatest scorers in modern NBA history and could score in many different ways, but LeBron was still more effective and efficient than him on the court.
James' reputation for being this willing passer or somewhat of a pass-first player has hurt him in these kinds of discussions. At the end of the day, few players in NBA history have been able to score at a better rate than him, and he deserves more respect than he gets as a scorer.
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