So LeBron James surpassed Skyhook's 38387 and became the NBA's new all-time scoring champion.
——Strictly speaking, in terms of regular season + playoff total points, LeBron has previously surpassed the 44149 of Skyhook. Today is just officially ahead of the regular season score of 38387.
At home in Los Angeles, the sky hook is here. Very ceremonial. When LeBron shot backwards to get 38,388, the whole court stopped.
After all, the regular season is often there, and 38388, this is the first time it has appeared.
In 1952, McCann of the Lakers replaced Falks as the NBA's all-time scoring leader.
In 1966, Chamberlain replaced Petty as the NBA's all-time scoring champion and retired with the Lakers.
In 1984, the Lakers' Skyhook surpassed Chamberlain and became the NBA's all-time scoring leader.
Now the Lakers' LeBron has surpassed the sky hook.
The Lakers always have the loudest names and moments.
As a former all-time scoring champion, Tiangou actually has only two seasons of scoring champions, LeBron.
That is: they don't talk about Jordan, who is the ten-scoring champion, Chamberlain, who is the seven-scoring champion, as well as Durant, Iceman, and AI, relying on excellent single-season performance; It depends on longevity: playing for a long time, playing steadily, all are indispensable.
When Skyhook surpassed Chamberlain in 1984, it was against the Jazz's Thor Mark Eaton, and he scored a signature hook shot - his 38387 and 44149, at least half of which came from the hook.
But LeBron, it's not the same.
The new all-time scoring champion, starting from scratch, was on October 29, 2003, when the Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Sacramento Kings.
Although everyone remembers "young LeBron has no basket", his first three NBA goals were all mid-range shots from the emergency stop - 16-foot shooting, 16-foot shooting, and 13-foot shooting.
When he entered the industry in 2003, LeBron was praised for his qualifications as 203 cm tall, 108 kg weight, steel and steel, leaping like a fly, playmaker-level dribbling and vision. After all, in high school, his selling point was "Jordan + Magician".
But what was the 2003-04 season?
Averaging 93 points and 15 three-pointers per game in the NBA, the top three regular-season MVP votes were KG, Duncan and O'Neal Jr., and the champions were two Wallace's Detroit Pistons. Maddie, the scoring champion that season, averaged 28 points per game, and only four players averaged more than 24 points per game in the NBA.
It wasn't a comfortable year for teenager LeBron. Slow killing, strong shots with the ball. In his rookie year, LeBron averaged 21 points per game and shot less than 42 percent from the field; Averaged 19 shots per game, 2.7 three-pointers and 5.8 free throws; 32 percent of shots were under the basket, 21 percent were long-range shots, and 16 percent were mid-range shots.
At that time, LeBron, there was no choice in shooting:
Shoot around the cover emergency stop, break through the throw on the weak side, and have a shooting opportunity, so grab it first:
But by the third grade, the situation had improved.
In his third grade, LeBron averaged 31.4 points per game, a career high in a single season — that was also the year when Kobe Bryant's first scoring champion scored 81 points per game, and the highest 33 points per game in AI's career.
That season, LeBron averaged 46 percent of his 23 shots from 16 feet and made 10 free throws per game.
In short: long throw + breakthrough.
That season, LeBron scored 51 points against the Jazz, scoring his 5,000th career point.
That game was very typical: his steel + explosiveness, active confrontation style, played to the extreme, and the Jazz's AK47 also took him helplessly.
This season, his signature breakthrough method - "shoulders bowed and big strides to grab the position" - began to take shape, pursuing big strides, mid-jumps, and aerial baskets.
Knowing that you can't completely shake off your opponent, take the initiative to carry it.
- It turns out that this style of play is the version answer.
At the end of that season, Wade broke through all the way and won the Finals MVP.
Of course, at that time, LeBron would still play a hand that Kobe Bryant often turned over and shot back:
In his bones, he was using himself as a peripheral player to go one-on-one with Maddie.
But it also shows the problem of LeBron during that period:
In the 2007 playoffs, the year LeBron scored 48 points per game and led the team to the Finals, he shot 34 percent from the field, 27 percent from the field, and 28 percent from three-point range: he was indeed close to the basket.
When LeBron entered the industry, he had a tendency to shoot:
He shoots a double-action shot, but when shooting the elbow, the right elbow is turned out sharply, and the person leans sharply to the left.
For example, in 2007, the legendary Battle of Auburn Mountain Tenno Mountain scored 48 points, grabbed the team's last 25 points, and could also make consecutive long shots. But the shooting posture at that time...
Such a casting method, you can have it when you find the rhythm; But it's always so biased, and the rhythm is not easy to find, right?
LeBron's first 10,000 points came in 2007-08, his first scoring title, against the champion Celtics.
That game, very clear:
He can take one step and take over Pierce; He is already an all-round finisher under the basket, finishing with both left and right foot jumps.
His first 10,000 points were chasing and counterattacking with his left hand and dunked KG - speed, explosiveness, left hand.
He already knows how to use his weight to lean over and press his opponents, and KG will also eat his breakthrough moves, so his turn and step back shots naturally have room - just a little basket and small work.
In 2008, LeBron approached Coach Chris Jant.
Coach Jante reminded LeBron to keep his shooting posture stable and to be mindful of balance.
After all, LeBron was rumored to weigh more than 120 kilograms at one point, and he liked to lean to the left, and the balance was really not easy to master.
In the 2008–09 season, LeBron was mentored by Coach Jant and shot at the time the second-highest career 34 percent three-point percentage and career-high 78 percent free throw percentage, winning his first regular-season MVP.
LeBron's LeBron that season, the roughly average of 28+8+7 per game was not more dazzling than the 30+8+8 of the previous season, but he was like a child with a Ferrari sports car, and finally learned to drive.
In 14 playoff games that year, he averaged 35 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists while shooting 51 percent from the field. Against the Magic with Dwight Howard, his performances: 49 points, 35 points (including the famous one-second kill), 41 points, 44 points (40+ in two consecutive away games), 37 points, 25 points.
In the playoffs that year, he shot 70 percent of the basket, 44 percent from the field, 49 percent from the long, and couldn't stop him — that year's scoring champion Wade, champion Kobe, MVP LeBron — the glory days of swinging people at the basket.
The next season, he won back-to-back MVP. He began to use more front turn hook hands and left hand low hand layups.
And, against the Atlanta Eagle, he scored his fifteenth thousand:
He can already play one-on-one with Joe Johnson by shooting three-point shots.
You can also force out Horford's defense, speed up with your head down, and then adjust to find the basket directly.
It can be said that LeBron's face basket attack power has reached its peak.
But we also know the follow-up:
In the 2011 Finals, LeBron was embarrassed when facing Dallas' joint defense, facing Kidd and even Baria's "Don't let LeBron break through the basket, you might as well come a few backs".
So the next version came.
In Miami, LeBron gradually went from a giant ball-carrying quarterback to an all-round striker.
The basket is improving: In 2011-12, he made 36 percent three-point percentage and 77 percent free throws.
In Game 6 of 2012, when he played the pinnacle of his career at Boston Garden, watch his shooting posture: stop hard, get up. The inclination is not large, and the rhythm of the sinking throw is clear.
The following regular season, he shot 41 percent from three-point range. He won Game 7 of the 2013 Finals and hit five three-pointers.
He was almost 30 years old at the time, and he also tried to reduce the height of the jump and increase the fluidity of his shots.
He reduced the shaking "everyone pulls away, the center circle starts at speed, the giant axe splits straight into the box, and the truck-style layup".
His details such as throwing around cover breakouts, mid-range stops, and breakthrough mid-point shots are gradually being comprehensive.
His back also evolved. In the 2011 Finals, he couldn't carry Baria and Kidd on his back, and in 2012, he carried the heat to the championship by back-to-back single-handedness; In the last two games of the finals, he gave out 25 assists, most of which were obtained by back-to-back singles + attracting bags + passing.
His ballless movements are even more cunning. For example, he knows how to cover for his teammates to block and how to get inside, and he knows how to speed from the bottom line on the weak side to receive Wade's passes. Now he doesn't need to hold the ball in his hand all the time, he can start the inside cut from the right wing, then go to the left waist, carry the ball with his back, and then easily move the weak side - he can affect the game anywhere, with or without the ball.
In fact, 3ft-15ft short-range mid-range shots and projectiles, which he was not good at before, have become his specialty; His breakthrough stop-and-shoot pitch is more proficient; In 2012-13, he shot 41 percent from three-point range, 45 percent from the long range and 42 percent from the field.
But at the same time, he became an efficiency maniac, shooting 37% of the basket and choosing more fixed-point shooting.
His shots have even slowed down, using more of a low-jump, slow-moving take-off jumper. The high jump is less and more use of cover – in 2010, Rick Barry criticized him for not using cover very well.
In early 2013, he scored his 20,000 career points against the Warriors. In that game, he had a slow but comfortable three-point shot around cover:
and a quick stop shot from the free throw line, and a stagnant adjustment to score.
Then move on to the next stage.
A conversation with a friend in 2017:
Me: I think LeBron's coordination and core strength have improved?
Peters: Mr. Zhan pays great attention to targeted training.
Me: The balance and stability seem to be better now than it was in 2009.
Peters: The new half-race trainer I hired that day said that Mr. Zhan could do stable foam roller slabs and handstands in yoga. In the business category, this is the first.
Me: Isn't that the same as David Robinson and Ray Allen?
Peter: Relative power, absolute power, and explosive confrontation can still do this. And there was no shaking, no matter where the breakthrough turned to an emergency stop, I never saw any slight shaking of him that caused injury, which was remarkable.
Me: Although it is said that Wilt (Chamberlain, well) is in good health, he must be good when it comes to athletics; But the combination of body and technology is really not as good as LeBron. Monsters.
Peter: Gee, I can't figure it out.
Me: He should have lost weight, usually plays, less heavy shoulders and lower head, often straightened waist, stride length is smaller, and the center of gravity changes less. In the past, I hoped to take one step, and in 2009, I often used Ross's kind of big horizontal jump, but now I erase my position with small strides, and I turn around and retreat. The steps are broken, the head is lowered, the jumps are less, the back turns and retreats are more, and the shooting is reduced in the height of the back and jump.
Peter: I understand better that my body and technology are used together. It seems that the previous seniors said so about Jordan after the comeback?
Four hours after we said that, LeBron was posting 38 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and 14-of-24 shooting at Boston Garden. 7 of the first 8 shots in the opening game were all points under the basket.
In 2015-16, LeBron averaged a career-low range of 9.6 feet, shooting 32 percent from 16 feet from the field and 46 percent from the basket — an efficiency maniac.
After all, in those days, the long-range shooting trend began, holding the ball to play right, those two years were the golden years of Durant and Leonard, the days when Wilson and Harden competed for MVP, and Curry was gradually scaring the whole league.
LeBron himself is most comfortable in terms of ball handling, passing and shooting, and rhythm. DeRozan says he seems to be faster and stronger than ever — I understand that LeBron has started faster and is more skilled in stride, angle and lean when breaking through.
And, I don't know if it's an accident, in the two years of working with Irving, LeBron has become more and more clever in shooting and rebounding angles.
My personal opinion: combining the combination of both ends of attack and defense, 2012-14 is the peak of LeBron; But purely offensively, 2016-18 was his most accomplished time.
In 2016-18, he often straightened his waist when facing the basket, his stride became smaller, and he did not pursue a step to accelerate and grab, but was more accustomed to getting stuck in position, turning or retreating with a back, rubbing and playing, and relying on non-dribblers to pull. The shooting height is also reduced.
If when he was young, he was faster than everyone, everyone was taller, he stepped through the sky in one step, and flew over the entire arena, then at this stage, he was more about stride to stay in position, the center of gravity changed rapidly, and he was playing with turns, steps, shaking, and card positions. He doesn't have to be that much faster than everyone else, just be faster and grab the position and solve the problem.
Emergency stop, core strength, more controllable.
In the 2015-16 season, he scored his 25,000 points for the Battle of Philadelphia: his breakthrough speed was more concealed and his board finding was more proficient.
It's also more fluid and habitually playing with the wrong foot and back-up shooting - let's remember this back-up shot.
The aerial adjustment of the back-up shot is more comfortable - let's still remember this back-up shot.
His 30,000 points came from his final season against the Spurs. Facing him was an old acquaintance, Danny Greene.
In that game, these two balls showed his style: he was almost 34 years old at the time, and he couldn't take a step over, but rubbed, rolled, turned and found the recutter:
He still threw in the shots.
His 30,000th point:
Face Danny strong shot. Danny's pace and distractions were flawless, but LeBron got up extremely fast and adjusted the height of his shot a bit.
It's true that he's not as fast and fierce as he was at his peak, but he's much smoother.
His 35,000 point was on an empty court in 2020-21, with a back-up shot — as you probably noticed: exactly the same as today's 38,388th point. A mid-range shot with a large back.
In fact, last season, this trick was his new killer move...
Also, no ball.
When Wei Shao wants to block and dismantle with him in a high position, he jumps outward, which is the starting style of blocking and dismantling the outside cut; Kevin Porter quickly followed, and Wilson broke through to the three-point line; Porter felt that he had followed LeBron's outer cut, and as soon as he looked back at Wei Shao, LeBron suddenly moved, cutting inside from his blind side; Porter was still watching Wei Shao, LeBron had cut inside, and Wei Shao ball had arrived - a dunk to finish.
This one looks like you turn your head and immediately run blindly and back, it's very Cavani - well, it's a crossover ...
Going back to today's 38,388th minute, this back-to-back shot.
It's the veteran's way of playing.
But it did go in.
From graduating from high school to the NBA, facing the Kings in a quick stop to score the first career point, to the 5,000th point of the Strong Jazz, to the 10,000th point of smashing KG, to the 15,000th point of forcing out of the defensive basket to attack Horford, to breaking through the 20,000th point of shooting the Warriors in the air, to skillfully hitting Philadelphia to score the 25,000 points, to facing Danny Green's 30,000th point in the position, and then back backwards - 35,000 points and 38,388 points.
Twenty years.
When Chamberlain exceeded Petty in total that year, he made a mistake.
He said that there are always people who can still score a hundred points in a single game (his record), but the NBA total points are more than 20,000, which is probably a long time ago, right?
Nothing in the world is certain and unchanging, and the 38387 and 44149 of the sky hook can also be surpassed; But not necessarily in the way we imagined – Chamberlain, for example, guessed wrong.
He scored 31,419 points when he retired, a record he thought he could hold for a long time, but now he is only sixth in history; And his record of 100 points in a single game is still standing.
When LeBron scored the first point, it was the strangulation years when the double Wallace would finally win the championship.
The year he broke through 5,000 was the golden age of Wade's last championship.
The year he smashed KG was the season when Kobe Bryant had a grudge with the Celtics.
The year he scored his 15,000 points against Horford, Bryant won his fifth title.
He scored 20,000 points that year, the Heat completed a 27-game winning streak and he defended the championship.
He scored 25,000 points, a season in which Curry won 73 and LeBron won the Cavaliers to the championship.
He scored 30,000 points and later that year had the most amazing playoff performance of his career, but the Warriors defended the title.
He scored 35,000 points that year, and the final winner was the Bucks: 20 more points per NBA game in the 2021 season than LeBron did in his rookie year.
He was well known for his ball intelligence, so he was very good at choosing the style of play that suits him in each era, and he continues to this day. Since then, every day has been a new record.
Each of these 38,388 points records the evolution of LeBron James' own style of play - and the evolution of the NBA version over the past two decades. After that, it's new records, and new versions we've never seen before.
Basketball, fun, right?