On February 25, Beijing time, Isaiah Thomas, nicknamed "Smile Assassin" by the Pistons, made a guest appearance on the basketball talk show "First Take" and talked about James, the lakers' active star. Thomas said James is the most dominant player he has ever seen in league history. If James can successfully break Abdul-Jabbar's overall scoring record, then he must be named GOAT.
Thomas has won two championships in his career, been named to the All-Star Team five times, and is a member of the NBA's 75 biggest stars. However, he has always been unceasing to praise, and has praised James in public many times. Earlier last month, he posted a message through his personal social media that James was the greatest all-around player in league history, a fact that must be made clear to everyone. This shows how much Thomas loves James.
Of course, some fans believe that the reason why Thomas is so strong with James is inseparable from the grudge between him and Jordan. In the '80s, Thomas's Pistons had been the bitter lord of Jordan's Bulls. Thomas' record against Jordan in the '80s was 32-16, leading Jordan across the board. The Pistons eliminated the Bulls in the playoffs for three consecutive years and won the championship twice. It wasn't until Thomas suffered a career-defying wrist injury in '91 and the Pistons fell out of the strong team and lost their competitiveness that Jordan then officially began his dynasty career. So Thomas never disobeyed Jordan. The conflict between the two was further intensified by Jordan's refusal to allow Thomas to join the Dream Team. Thomas is still reluctant to acknowledge Jordan's historical status.
Of course, the feud between Thomas and Jordan aside, James is indeed one of the league's most dominant players, and he has always been included in the GOAT discussion. James, now 37 years old, is still keeping his form at the top. He averaged 29.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1 block per game this season, and his scoring set a new high in nearly 12 years. He still plays 36.4 minutes per game (4th in the league), which makes it amazing how long his peak can last.
Although the Lakers have a poor record this season and may face a situation of competing for playoff qualification through the playoffs at any time, James' performance is still worthy of recognition. With James already full of glory, he does have the capital to compete with Jordan in a historical position.
James currently has a career total of 36,559 points, a 369-point gap from 2nd place Malone. Based on his average score per game this season, he only needs 13 games to complete the overtaking. He is still 1828 points away from Abdul-Jabbar's overall scoring record, and if he can always maintain excellent on-field form, I believe he can reach the top of the total scoring list next season. In the future, he is even expected to chase a height of 40,000 points.
(Text/Yuwen Basketball)